The Missing
by no1hascontrol
Summary: While the other survivors of 815 are learning how to live with each other, one survivor finds himself faced with his own mortality and trying to understand his own future. Will he be judged for his past sins before fully understanding hiw own destiny?
1. Chapter 1

This, obviously, has no legal affiliation with ABC or the television show Lost. It is simply a fan's work at releasing some of the creative inspiration given to him while enjoying the show lost.

To any that read this, feel free to give your opinion to me. I'm always open to criticism good or bad, and I do read it. Feel free to say anything you want, this is an open story. If you add to the story, I might keep it or disregard it depending on if it fits with where I was taking it. But, I do like opinions.

Light.....

Light was not friendly.....

It was sharply bright, like pins needling through his closed eyelids into the pale ovals that lay beneath them. He took a sharp intake of breath reflexively, the rush of warm air filling his lungs and stirring up the fog that seemed to cover his brain. The adrenaline that still lingered in his veins gave him the needed strength to sit up-right; the sharp pain in his chest ignored as nothing more than a mosquito bite. His mind was slowly running back to full speed, gearing up for some fight or calamity that no longer remained. Muscles tense and senses fully awakened, he sat on the green grass beneath him and quickly scanned his surroundings.

There were so many trees, tall and stretching up to the sky. Above him, a small window into the clear blue sky allowed the pouring of sunlight onto his broken body. He coughed, struggling for breath after and coughed again. Liquid spilled from his lips, and he reached up to touch it. Warm and oily on his hands, he looked down. A dark crimson painted his fingertips. He was bleeding, coughing up blood. This was not good.

He touched his side; the soft reminder of pain now tripled in strength under his touch and he flexed his hand away. He feared a broken rib, possibly a punctured lung. He groaned, trying to bend his legs beneath him and force himself to his feet. This jungle was no place for an injured man.

In the distance, he could hear the roar of an engine. The plane must have hit the island too. He could hear a woman screaming, but he didn't care. Right now, his only thought was possible death. Struggling under heavy pain and stiff legs, he muscled himself to his feet but remained crouching over. His right arm curled around his chest, trying vainly to soften the pain. He braced his upper body with his left arm against his knee. He took a few deep, painful breaths and struggled upright.

The sudden rustle of leaves and broken branches caused him to twist, and scan through the trees around him. He cursed, wishing for a weapon but having nothing more than his broken body, he grew worried. Through the tall trees came a man, tall and worn from years of living. His grey hair was slicked back, a suit around his thin frame, and strangely enough, white tennis shoes. He stopped as he exited the trees, and simply stood staring.

"Who are you?" The injured man asked, taking a few steps back, "I don't remember you from the plane."

"You wouldn't." He answered, "My name is Christian."

He nodded, staring down Christian and a little scared at the calm demeanor the man had. They had just dropped thousands of feet in the air inside a broken plane. No man would be calm, not even him. Something about this man was unnatural, and every good sense in him screamed caution.

"What happened?" He asked.

"You crashed here." Christian answered, looking at him strangely.

"I heard a woman, there are other survivors. We should help them." He said, his ulterior motive simply being to get away from this man. He was in no position to put up a decent fight, and although he knew he had a chance, he had no intention of furthering his injuries.

"You cannot help them. You must help yourself." Christian answered him, "You are broken. You must be fixed."

"I..... What are you talking about?"

"They can save each other, but you are broken. You must save yourself." Christian answered, and immediately he heard a heavier rustling of leaves in the distance. A soft roar, if it could be described as that even, was heard in the distance. It sounded like a mix of creature and mechanical movement in the distance.

"He doesn't like you." Christian said, "You are broken."

"I.... I've got to help them." He said, and turned to leave. He didn't like giving his back to the strange man, but he needed to move. He was in no condition to fight that man, or whatever was in the jungle. He walked as fast as could, each stride sending a crippling tinge of pain through his chest. He struggled for breath between each flinch of pain, and kept stumbling forward. Behind him, it was silent but he felt like something was behind him, something hanging over him. He faintly heard the mechanical click of..... something but he didn't stop. He kept moving.

He suddenly broke through the tree line onto the beach, pain surging through his body. He stumbled forward, falling to his knees. It was a madhouse of panic. Twisted remnants of the plane littered the beach, unmoving bodies mingled among the wreckage and those fortunate enough to be moving were either frozen in fear or aimlessly wandering around.

As his vision blurred, he saw a man running to him. A tall man with dark black skin, yelling at him something he couldn't understand. He struggled to talk, but nothing was coming out of him but blood and voiceless breath. He slumped forward, the man catching him and lowering him down. Standing over him, the man was yelling but he could barely hear it still, "Hey man! Come on! Hang in there!"

The man looked away from him, toward the water, "Somebody help! This guy's hurt bad! Come on!"

He looked back down at him, "Hey, Walt!" Somewhere out of his vision, a figure moved close and obscured the sun for a moment. Under the heavy shadow, his vision started to go. Blackness consumed him even in the broad daylight of the hot sun, and the last thing he heard was the man, "Walt, get somebody! Get some help!"

The man struggled for air, but it wasn't in his power to breath. The simple act of struggling onto the beach had sucked whatever strength had remained in him. Now, he was falling away into unconsciousness fast and even though he realized it, he couldn't do anything to stop it. Sapped of all his strength, he gave in to the darkness, being sucked into the same darkness that had consumed his vision...

There was that stupid light again.....

He cursed, and surprised himself when the words escaped his lips. Somehow, he was surprised to be alive. The pain in his chest was now simply a twinge of uncomfortableness, which was odd because he knew it should hurt worse. He forced his eyes open, peering upward into the grass ceiling of a hut. Between the grass stalks, the bright sunlight peeked through and flashed across his vision as he lay there on a cot.

His mind was groggy, slow. He didn't like it, and it felt wrong. He struggled to upright himself, but there was no strength in him. He laid there, completely docile and relaxed for once.

"I told you not to move." A man's voice said from his right, and he tilted his head to look. He was a tall man, with dark hair and a few days worth of stubble. Some kind of tattoos painted his arm, but he couldn't tell what kind from where he was laying. His face, though, .... looked strangely familiar to him.

"Where am I?" He muttered.

"I wish I had an answer for that, but I don't. We're on some kind of island, on the beach right now." He answered, and looked down at him, inspecting him. He smirked, "Name's Jack, by the way. I'm a doctor."

"Lucky me..." He muttered again, not feeling up to this conversation.

"You _are_ lucky. You had a broken rib that punctured your left lung. I did the best I could with your rib, but we don't have the tools I need for a punctured lung. I thought you'd die, but somehow, you're still here and breathing. From what I can tell, you're healing." Jack told him, inspecting his chest with his hands. He was surprised; the doctor's lightly pressing on his ribs didn't even hurt.

"Doc... your bedside manner sucks...." He answered, coughing.

Jack smiled, "So, what's your name?"

"Jacen," The injured man answered, "How long have I been out of it?"

"Few days, you've been sleeping the entire time." Jack answered, "You could probably stand up. You're healing very quickly, and you don't seem to have any pain still in your chest."

Jack stood next to him as Jacen leaned forward, putting his hand behind him and helping him to sit up. So far, the doc was right. There wasn't any pain, really. A little bit but that could be from the stiffness of lying in bed for several days. Jacen swung his legs over the side of his cot, the cool sand beneath his toes felt good.

"How many survivors?"

"There's a lot of us. We've got a camp setup on the beach here, and a few have gone hunting for boar..." Jack answered, going to get a backpack and putting his supplies back into it.

"Hunting...? Well, I guess we gotta eat." Jacen replied, "Any hope of rescue?"

Jack paused, closing up his backpack. He finally said, "We went looking for the cockpit of the plane, but the pilot... was dying. We found the transceiver and brought it back, a man is trying to repair it right now. If we can fix it, we can get a signal out and tell somebody where we are. Right now, you shouldn't worry about that though. Just grab some food and water from the others."

"Sounds like you've gotten pretty comfortable here..." Jacen grunted as he stood to his feet.

"Nothing comfortable about this place," Jack answered, and looking him over once as Jacen stood, he added, "Take it easy today, don't go too far from the hut. There's plenty of water in a tarp not far from here, and there's a big guy named Hurley that can help you if you need anything else."

As Jack started to leave, Jacen asked, "Where you heading?"

"I'm a doctor, always somebody to help." Jack answered, and left the hut. Somewhere in Jacen's mind, he felt that Jack wasn't going to patch up another survivor on the beach. Something weighed heavy on him, but then again, they did just survive a plane crash. Maybe he was just being paranoid.

Jacen stumbled out of the hut, catching himself from falling and stood himself erect again. He took a breath, and tried again. He'd never had to think so hard about walking, and now his legs still felt like glue had dried in his veins. He slowly walked out of the tent, among the other survivors. He suddenly realized that when the doc said 'a lot,' that's exactly what he meant. People were busying themselves with all kinds of chores, tending to each other or simple tasks. For a plane that dropped out of the sky onto the hard surface of the island, there were far more survivors than he expected, almost an unnatural amount.

He walked forward toward the water, and sat down in the sand. The warm sun soaking his skin felt good, and smell of ocean air was refreshing. As much horror as he'd been through in the past few days, the paradise-like conditions of this island were not lost on him.

"Dude, you're up." A big guy said walking toward him. A big goofy grin adorned the large man's face, fitting him perfectly somehow. He plopped down into the sand next to him, "The name's Hurley."

"Jacen," He replied, nodding to the man.

"Jack said you should drink." Hurley said, handing him a water bottle.

Jacen accepted it, taking a long swig of the warm water. Easing the roughness in his throat, his voice calmly answered, "Thanks, needed that more than I realized."

"No prob, dude. We gotta look after each other, only thing we've got." Hurley answered.

"This is a lot of people, a lot of survivors."

"Yeah, it's good though. If I was stuck on this island alone, I'd be completely freaked out." Hurley answered.

"What do you mean?"

Hurley looked over at him, puzzled. He asked, "Jack didn't tell you?" Jacen shook his head, and Hurley continued, "Dude, there's some seriously messed up stuff on this island. First night, we're all gathered around the wreckage and trying to figure out what happened, and out in the jungle, we hear some kind of animal roaring. Trees are getting pushed around, and this thing is so loud you can hear it for miles. Completely freaks people out, and I think I peed a little bit myself."

Jacen smirked, "So, we going to have some T-Rex running out of the jungle?"

"Maybe, dude. This place freaks me out." Hurley answered, much more serious than Jacen's question was.

"So, what's with the old guy? Christian, I think."

Hurley thought a moment, "I don't know a Christian. You sure that's his name?"

Jacen was quiet a moment, and then answered ominously, "Yeah, I'm sure. He had grey hair pulled back, a full suit on, and white tennis shoes. Wasn't even hurt, looked like he just stepped out of the catalog."

"I don't know anybody like that. But, then again we don't know everybody here yet." Hurley answered.

Jacen was quiet. He knew he'd seen the man in the jungle, but then again, he was bleeding internally and survived falling out of a plane and landing in the jungle. He could have imagined it, but then he remembered the animal he'd heard.

"That roar you heard.... Did it sound.... like a machine? Like there was clicking in it or something?" Jacen asked.

"Yeah... yeah dude. Why? You hear too? Were you awake?" Hurley asked.

Jacen was quiet, thinking a moment. Finally he lied, "Yeah thought I heard something one night in the hut but thought I was dreaming..."

"Dude... this place is freaky, isn't it?"

"Yeah, something isn't right about this place." Jacen answered.

He wasn't quite sure why he didn't tell his story. A part of him was afraid of the craziness of it, that he'd come across as some loon looking for attention. Another part still doubted it all himself. Did he really see a man in the jungle? And, what was it he said? Jacen couldn't remember exactly, but he remembered the man.

"I'm going to get some fruit, want some?" Hurley asked, standing up.

"Yeah, I'll take some." Jacen answered, "Thanks."

"No prob, dude. I'll be back."

As Hurley walked off, Jacen found himself scanning the beach again. The island itself was strange, the man in the jungle and the unseen animal was weirder, but something about these people didn't feel right either. How could a plane drop out of the sky, break apart, and then land on the beach with all that force, and still this many people survive? _He_ shouldn't even be alive. He must have been thrown from the plane, landed in the jungle. How did he survive with just a broken rib?

There were a lot of strange events happening, and this island was at the center of every question. Turning around and looking into the jungle behind him, Jacen felt the urge to look into the darkest part of the island. Something was calling him, no. Something was challenging him.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It had been a few eventful days. Jacen had done his best to keep himself from the spotlight, avoiding any confrontation he could. Locke, some guy trying his best to be Daniel Boone on this island, was acting funny every time Jacen had found himself around him. He was good at boar hunting, but he tended to be abrasive with people. Even Michael, who had saved Jacen, was starting to get aggravated with Locke trying to be nice to his kid. Michael was nice, but he did need to lighten up some when it came to protecting his son. It's not like somebody's going to kidnap him, they're all stuck on the beach.

This morning there was a little commotion, a woman drowning a couple hundred feet off the shore. Jack had brought back the kid, Boone, but the woman was too far gone to be saved. As bad as Jacen felt for her, it was her decision to go that far out into the ocean. There was no mercy in nature, a lesson he knew too well.

He sat back on the beach near jungle's edge with his back to the great unknown behind him. Although the paranoia still remained in his heart about the old man and the strange creature, there wasn't much he could do about it. People in the camp were acting strange enough, and his adding to the chaos would only make things worse. So, here he sat at the edge of the jungle, as if daring this creature to come and take him.

He gazed around the make-shift village, his eyes finally landing on a pretty blonde. Her long, curvy frame was soaking up the sun's rays falling on the beach as she lay in her bikini, completely in the moment. While she was very pretty in appearance, he was jealous of her calmness to lay there and soak in the sun. While everyone else worried of their everyday affairs at home and how they're going to survive the night ahead of them alone, she enjoyed the moment and used it to its benefit.

"Her name's Shannon." A soft voice called from his right.

He jerked his head to the location of the voice, to find a pretty young girl with naturally brown skin and dark hair. She smiled at him, "You should talk to her."

He smirked, shaking his head, "It's not like that."

"Uh huh..." She replied, going back looking through the pile of clothes in front of her. He guessed her at maybe 19, and strangely enough, found her more alluring than the blonde in the bikini. Something about this one caught his eye.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"Veronica. You?" She answered looking back up at him.

"Jacen. Nice to meet you."

"Do you talk to all the girls like this or just me?" She looked up with her eyes, not moving her head. One corner of her mouth slid up in a teasing gesture.

He smirked but answered dryly, "You're funny."

"Gotta keep my mind off the threat of being gored by a boar or Sawyer trying to swindle me out of something else. So, I use humor to make myself smile... and you apparently."

He suddenly realized the big grin on his face, and tried to force it down. He stood up, finding it extremely easy considering three days ago he was two steps from dead. He wiped the sand off the butt of his jeans and the back of his dark grey t-shirt. Reaching up and running a hand through his unruly brown hair, he turned to face her and caught a better view of her as she stood up.

She was very pretty, with her long dark hair and tanned skin. Her brown eyes had flecks of green in them when sun hit them, and her face was utterly adorable. She was a little below average height, and had soft curves to her body. Something about her attracted him, something beyond her natural good looks. As she stood up with a few shirts in her hands, one dropped onto the sand. Like a puppy in love, he quickly jogged over and snatched it up from the sand to give it back.

As he laid it atop the other shirts in her hands again, she smiled her white teeth that flashed in the sun, "My hero..." She winked and walked away, toward one of the huts near the edge of the camp. He caught himself staring, his heart urging him to follow after her but he remained where he stood.

As she disappeared, Hurley's voice drew his attention again. "Hey Dude," the large man said as he approached.

"Hey big guy. How's it going?" Jacen replied.

"Not good dude," He said as he handed Jacen a water bottle, "It's one of the last, so I thought you should have it since you're... you know, healing and stuff."

"What do you mean one of the last ones?" Jacen asked, taking it from Hurley and holding it tightly. The water bottle's value suddenly skyrocketed in his mind.

"It's the last, all of our other ones are gone and we can't find them."

"You mean somebody stole them?" Jacen asked.

"Either that or somebody was _really_ thirsty." Hurley answered, taking the other two bottles in his hand and turning away from Jacen. He was scanning the beach for somebody, but Jacen didn't know who. He could guess one of them being the pregnant girl that was walking around, though.

"You should let Jack know." Jacen said.

"Yeah, we told him but he didn't seem to care at the moment. Looked like something else was bothering him," He said, "Alright dude, I've gotta find Claire. Take care."

As Hurley bounded off, Jacen looked down at the bottle. Water was the most important thing to them right now. Food they could find and ration, but those water bottles were a necessity. It didn't rain enough for the tarp to gather enough water for everybody, so the water bottles helped to keep the water supply up. Now, they faced a calamity.

Jacen stuck his bottle in the back of his jeans, and took off walking after the girl. Scanning through the throngs of people, he couldn't find her. Checking each hut didn't reveal her either, until he reached the very last one near the edge of the camp. Inside, through one of the cracks in the hut, he could see her and she was currently switching shirts. He turned around, looking out over the ocean's horizon and waited. He didn't want her to think he was spying but he wanted to talk. Finally, he called out to her, "Hey, you in there?"

She quickly pulled her shirt on, and pushed the tarp over the edge of her hut's roof to keep it up. She stepped out, pulling her dark strands of hair from under the back of her t-shirt. At one point, the front had a picture of something but now it was faded to just a half a palm tree and a little orange mess of color up near her shoulder. It fit her body nicely though.

"Isn't there like a three day rule before you come looking for a date?" She asked slyly.

"Do you treat all the guys like this or just me?" He asked, mocking her tone from earlier.

"Just you, my dear little stalker." She smiled at him, "What's up?"

He handed her the water bottle and said, "It's one of the last ones."

"What?"

"The big guy just came up to me saying all the other bottles are missing now, and nobody knows where they are. So, I figured you should have this one." He said.

She took it and smiled at him, "See? This is why you get special treatment."

He smiled back at her, "Try to ration it, hard to say when we'll get another batch of them."

"What's everybody's plan?"

"Not sure, Hurley said Jack was distracted or something. Maybe ole' John Locke will MacGyver something with his knives, but he's not around at the moment. I...."

She tilted her head slightly, "What?"

"I think I'm going to go see if there's a freshwater source around here, maybe a little stream or pond even. It's a big island." He said, looking out toward the jungle and all the paranoia in his heart swirled. He didn't consider himself a man given to this much fear, but something on this island scared him.

"No! That's crazy, let Locke or Jack worry about that." She said, grabbing his hand. She held it, "I finally find a friend, and he's not going running off into the jungle to die."

"I'm not going to die; I'm just going to look around." He answered, admittedly not desiring to let go of her hand.

"Don't, please."

As much as her pleas were getting to him, the thought of dying of dehydration was worse. They needed water; they're going to need water even if they find the water bottles. Eventually they're going to run out, and then they're going to have to go looking for water anyway.

"I have to, we need water. I'll be careful." He said and pulled away from her hand.

"Jacen...." She said, "Be careful."

"I will, I promise."

**Three years prior to the crash....**

Jacen strolled casually through the large glass doors of the bank. His roughed-up leather jacket was frayed and his jeans had a well-placed hole right over the knee cap that flashed his white skin with each stride. Standing at the end of the long line for the teller, he made it just in time as the security guard behind him stood up to lock the doors. As the second hand clicked to its tallest position on the bank's clock, time slowly came to and passed the five o'clock mark. The security guard turned the key in the glass door just as a pretty, young woman stepped up to it. Pushing on it in futility, she gave the saddest expression her beautiful face could make when it didn't budge, and the elderly security guard took pity. Unlocking and opening the door just enough for her to slide through, she patted him on the shoulder and thanked him. Swaying her curvy frame past him, he shut and locked the door for good for the night.

Jacen turned back around and looked at the line which moved much slower than even bank lines were expected to move. He sighed, his right hand patting his jeans pocket where his envelope of money rested. This was his last payment received, and his last deposit. Tonight, he was going to finish packing and tomorrow, he'd leave town with his middle finger out the window to everybody and everything he was leaving behind.

As the elderly woman at the front of the line turned to leave, the beautiful young woman behind Jacen opened her large handbag and pulled from it a pristine, silver handgun. Unknowing, Jacen turned to look back as a young girl in front of him gasped, and from the corner of his eye was a flash of light and the explosion of sound in his right ear as the young woman pulled the trigger. Jacen flinched, the sound still echoing in his ear and his peripheral vision searing with white light. The elderly woman in the front of the line fell forward and lay still on the floor of the bank.

"Everybody down or you'll get a bullet too!" The young woman behind him yelled.

Jacen twisted quickly, his right elbow crashing into her clenched fist on the gun. Instinctively, he drove his shoulder back with the momentum of his attack, crashing into her chest and letting his weight do the work as they tumbled to the floor together. As soon as they landed, he felt her chest collapse in as the air was forced from her lungs and his left hand clenched down onto the gun in her hand, pinning it to the floor. Quickly, putting his weight into his right arm, he pressed his forearm against her throat cutting off all oxygen. He clearly had the weight and muscle advantage on her. Her free hand struck against his face, but he tucked his chin and left only his hair for her to grab.

"Stop!" A male's voice bellowed behind him and the cool metal ring of a gun barrel pressed against the back of Jacen's neck.

Jacen froze, his eyes scanning for the elderly guard who should have been armed, but found his body near the door and blood trickling from his forehead. Not a gunshot, but definitely struck by something. He had to be unconscious. Jacen was stuck now between a gun and violent woman.

A handful of his leather jacket was grabbed and Jacen was thrown back off the woman and onto his back. Looking up, he saw a tall man with white skin and dark hair. He didn't have any scars, and actually was wearing a nice, black suit. He certainly didn't fit Jacen's preconceived idea of a bank robber, but then again, neither did the beautiful woman Jacen was just choking.

"You got a lot of nerve man!" The tall crook yelled, and looked over at the girl, "You alright?"

Stuck in a coughing fit, trying to regain her breath, she muttered, "Shoot... him!"

"No! Why did you shoot the old lady?!" He yelled, looking back. The elderly woman was moving, another woman helping her but froze as the man looked at them, "If she dies, then we're in this for manslaughter!"

"If we get caught!" The woman yelled back.

Jacen kept still, trying to do his best not to anger either of them. At the moment, he was at their mercy. The man shook his head, "This is a white-collar crime in an easy prison, but manslaughter puts us in much deeper. You want a rape buddy in prison? Cause I don't!"

"_If_ we get caught!! We're not getting caught though." She yelled back, getting to her feet and putting the sights of her gun on Jacen.

The male crook stood between her and Jacen, "Please. For me, baby. I don't want anybody to die today, let's just get what we came for and disappear."

She hesitated, anger brewing behind her eyes. His words worked on her though, she lowered her gun and turned away. "Alright, where's the teller?" She screamed.

A young woman stuck her head up from behind the counter, "H-here."

"Open the safe! Now!" The female crook yelled, putting her gun at the woman, "Did you hit the alarm yet?"

The woman shook her head, "N-no. I promise..."

"If cops show up at that front door, I promise you he won't stop me from putting a bullet in _your_ head. So you better make sure they don't show up, understand?" She asked, pointing at the girl with her gun.

"Y-yes... I'll m-make sure...." The young girl asked.

She turned back around and looked at Jacen behind her partner, "And, you..... You just earned the spot of bag-filler for everything in the vault cause I'm not letting you out of my sights..."

Jacen nodded. As the woman walked toward the bank counter, the male crook turned to look at him, "Come on, stand up. You heard her."

Jacen jumped up to his feet, his hands held up at his shoulders to show he meant no harm. He stepped around the male crook, and started walking forward toward the woman. The man kept close behind him, gun aimed directly between his shoulders. There was no dodging it now.

"Come on girl! Open the safe and help this guy fill the bags." She yelled, her gun leveled at her.

The four of them walked back behind the counter and toward the large metal safe near the back of the bank. Along the way, Jacen looked at the people on the floor, the groups of faces of innocent people. Some were older, but some were still just young girls that were beginning their adult life, years still ahead of them. None of them had any idea they would be hostages in a bank hold-up, let alone be faced with possible death. They weren't prepared for this; he could see it in their faces. They weren't like him; most of them probably had never seen a gun even.

Jacen was now really in trouble. While the man clearly didn't want to have murder on his rap sheet, the woman had no problem with it. She showed that by firing a round into the elderly woman. While his death was looming in front of him, he also had the thought of the ten or so people that would still be in the lobby. If things went bad, they'd be used as hostages and some probably killed in the process. Jacen needed a plan, and at the moment, he didn't have one. This was not going to end well.....


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**Present day....**

The cool night air swirled through the camp, being filtered through the littering of huts and finally gently caressing around Jacen. While the smell of the beach was usually sweet, the smell of his fellow survivors was not. Many people were still struggling with the idea of being stuck on the island; the normal routines of life such as a bath were being ignored due to trauma. Jacen frowned. No wonder the boars were coming around the camp, the horrible smell of human life was drawing them. At least Locke should be able to find one easier.

He sat quietly, listening to the waves crashing against the beach and then rolling back out to the ocean. The constant rush of rhythmic noise gave his mind something to focus on, and push his mind into neutral from all the thoughts in his head. He spent too much time thinking, and the boredom of having nothing but time was not helping him.

"Want some company?" Her familiar voice asked from behind him.

"Sure." He answered, listening to her walk through the sand and then sit closely to him. In the cool night air, he could feel the warmth of her body radiating against him. It was the simple things like feeling her next to him that he liked, maybe because it had been so long since somebody had been that close to him.

"It was a good dinner..." Veronica said, drawing her knees up under her chin and resting it against them.

"Yeah, good of Locke to bring one in for us..." He answered.

The silence seemed to ooze back in between them, and even the gentle crashing of waves seemed somber now. Jacen sat there, struggling between the urge to talk to her and the desire to simply be left alone. It was the same struggle he'd had with every girl in his life since his incident.

"So, who's this Jacen character?" She asked.

"What?"

"Well, if you're going to go trampling off into the jungle tomorrow, I should at least know what to say for your eulogy when you don't come back...." She said, and the seriousness in the joke was off-setting for Jacen.

He thought for a moment, and then answered, "Well, what do you want to know?"

"What did you do for work?"

"I was... retired." He answered, taking a handful of sand and letting it cascade between his fingers.

"Come on, you're not that old..."

"No really. I saved up every bit of money I could get while I was working, and a couple years ago, I made my last paycheck. Put it in the bank, and been travelling around ever since." He answered.

"You've been living off that? You can't be more than twenty five, how did you save up that much?" She asked.

"I....," He started to say, then readjusted his thoughts, "I did things other people wouldn't do, and I got paid well for it."

She coughed, and then turned to him, "So... what? You killed people?"

He looked over at her, their eyes matching each other's gaze. Without smiling he answered, "57 people..."

She froze, her eyes widening. She blurted out, "Wha?-"

"I'm kidding!" He smirked, putting his hand up, "I wasn't a hit man."

Her face scrunched in anger and she punched him in the arm, "That's not funny!"

"It was from my end..." He chuckled, leaning back in the sand.

She shook her head in mock anger, "You're not right...."

"I know," He answered, smiling. Letting a few seconds pass, he finally added, "I did things like freelance security for celebrities or political figures. The more people hated them, the better I got paid. I'd risk my neck for people I hated, but at the end of the day, it paid the bills."

She caught the anguish in his words and said, "It was a job, that's all."

"Yeah... I guess....," He sat back up, and turned to look at her, "So what about you?"

"I was a waitress at a restaurant." She answered.

"You don't have an aussie accent..." He noticed, assuming that since they'd flown from Australia.

She shook her head, "No, I'm American. My parents died when I was twelve, so my Aunt and Uncle took me in. They live in Sydney, and as nice as it is there, I miss home. So I was saving my money, and on my twentieth birthday a couple weeks ago, I bought a plane ticket," She said, and her voice mellowed and saddened, "I was going to visit my Parent's graves, first thing...."

Jacen sighed, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay; it's been a long time. I'm just sad I didn't make it." She said, then turning her head around, she scanned the area behind them. She turned her upper body, and stared backwards, "I-"

Jacen caught the look in her eye and turned to face where she was looking. Toward the jungle line, there was a small opening but nothing there. He turned back to her, "What?"

"I thought... I thought I saw someone..." She said, "Someone go into the jungle..."

"Who?" Jacen asked.

"That Ethan guy...." She replied, almost whispering, "He's weird. Keeps asking weird questions."

"Like what?" Jacen asked, turning back to the jungle. Still nothing there and it was too black in the jungle to see anything further than a few feet in.

"First, he was asking about Jack and Locke, even Kate. Then, he starts asking about Claire. How long she been pregnant? She having pain? Baby still moving? Weird questions, you know?" She said, her brow lowered in annoyance.

"Yeah... I don't know, be careful." Jacen answered, turning back around and facing the ocean. He didn't know Ethan or what he even looked like, but he was going to keep an eye out now.

"He's fine, just weird. We're all out here stuck on the same beach and living the same nightmare... Maybe it's just getting to him..." She said, trying to let it go.

"You're too trusting..." He answered, "The bad part of this is that we don't know anything about these people. They could be anybody, they could be murderers or terrorists or rapists for all we know. If he causes you trouble, you let me know. But, don't trust anybody."

"Not even you?" She asked with a smile.

He shook his head, "Who said I was a good guy?"

Morning had come quickly to the camp, most of the survivors were now groggily moving in their tents or huts. Some were up and walking around to talk to others and some were even taking off for a morning bath in the salty ocean water. Still, some were just ignoring the noise around them and trying to snooze a little longer.

Jacen was up since dawn, though. He'd spent a fair amount of time talking to Veronica last night, happy to be a listening ear as she chatted about her life as a kid with her parents, and then her life struggling to get over the loss. He empathized with her, knowing the feeling of suddenly finding yourself alone despite having the entire world around you.

As she was now slowly stirring to life in her own little hut, Jacen was already long gone. He snaked around trees and pushed large green leaves from his way as he trekked through the jungle, his adventure starting at dawn. Even out here though, he'd seen a few survivors. Not too far into the jungle this morning, Sawyer was walking around doing some business Jacen didn't care about, and they simply exchanged nods of their heads. Sawyer was gone though, left far behind as Jacen pressed on.

The coolness of the morning was beginning to lift, and even under the shade of the trees, the heat was building fast. He was starting to wish he'd kept that bottle of water he'd left with Veronica. Quickly, he found himself thinking more of her with each step he took. He kept thinking about her smile, the white teeth that sparkled in the sun when she laughed. She had striking eyes, even without makeup. He liked the way her eyes began to smile before her lips would. Somehow, the thoughts about her drove away the gnawing nervousness of being in an unfamiliar place with no weapons other than his hands. Not to mention, his haunting memory of Christian and his beast.

He neared a ridge, and stopped at its edge. It was a short cliff below, leading down into a stream that lay at the bottom of the twenty foot drop. Tree roots grew out and back into the dirt of the cliff, and Jacen figured he could climb down. Maybe the water would be okay, he thought. If it was this easy to find though, somebody else would have found it by now.

He began to climb down the vines along the rock, easily grappling his way down. Midway, he froze. Somewhere above him, he'd heard a sound. He listened, the ambiance of the jungle fading away as his senses honed in on the sound he heard. It was faint, but clearly unnatural to the jungle. It was like... whispering. He leaned back, trying to see as far over the top of the cliff as he could and saw nothing.

He shook his head, and then continued down. It sounded like ten people whispering at once, and if there were ten people atop that ridge, he'd of known it before he could hear whispering though. The last half of the cliff was easily traversed and he dropped down into the streambed with a splash of water. The mud stirred up from his landing was quickly drawn away downstream, and below him was the clear trickle of water. It was very shallow though, much less deeper than he perceived. It reached barely to the ridge of the sole of his boots.

He reached down trying to catch some in his hand, and then brought it up to taste. Sloshing it around in his mouth, it seemed fine. A little bitter, but he wasn't an expert at identifying ocean water from fresh water. He stood back up, trying to make a mental note of the direction he came to reach the stream. Then, he looked downstream to where it led. The already slow, shallow trickle was even harder to notice the further it went from him. Turning around, he looked upstream and decided to follow it. If anything, the source of the stream would be deeper.

As he walked, the stream curved to the right then back to the left. The farther upstream he got though, the more he began to notice little difference. He was beginning to assume this lead to nowhere and the stream was going to just disappear underground when behind him, he heard a noise again.

Flipping around, he quickly scanned the jungle behind him. This sound was familiar, and nothing like the whispering he had heard earlier. This time, it was like a soft clicking noise. It was a noise he'd heard before, the day of the crash. He stepped backward, and noticed in the foliage movement. It was black like the darkness of night, and seemed to... hover. He couldn't explain it but it wasn't natural. This wasn't normal. Movement to his left drew his attention in foliage much closer to him.

"Son of a....." He breathed out, a large plume of black smoke snaking up from the foliage and hovering over him five feet or so above his head.

It was smoke, but it wasn't. It didn't just hover away, but it locked in on him and seemed to stare him down, threatening him or sizing him up. From his right where he'd originally seen movement, another plume of smoke snaked between the trees and then slithered over to the mass in front of him, merging together.

"Smart little bas-" He started to say, but froze. Inside the smoke, it appeared to be like flicks of light blasting and then fading. Inside, he felt a strange fogginess in his head. He felt drowsy, as if he hadn't slept for a day. But, then it left him. The black smoke then began to swirl faster, as if agitated.

It roared, if it could even be described as that. Then, it slithered backward into the foliage behind it. Something about its movement though, something told Jacen that it wasn't a choice to retreat backward.

Behind him, he heard another sound. This time it was the whispering, and Jacen flipped around, looking up the ridge that followed the stream bed. Something was moving up there, and this sound was already too much. Jacen couldn't explain what he'd just seen, and now he was facing a sound he couldn't even explain.

Movement stirred behind him again from the direction of the smoke, but above the ridge from the source of the whispering, came a familiar face. Christian stood there, his unwrinkled and perfectly clean suit resting against his motionless body, and his face without expression, but he raised his left arm and pointed upstream. He opened his mouth, and said calmly, "Run."

Jacen's nerves were already firing through his body and flooding adrenaline into him. He bolted, legs churning and splashing water around him. He leaped out of the stream and onto the ground; he blasted through ferns and vines. Behind him, he could hear it again. The clicking sound that came from the black smoke and even the loud blast of unnatural tone that Jacen assumed was the creature's roar. He leapt over a large root, body burning adrenaline like gasoline and crashed through several vines snapping them and erupting through the other side still barreling ahead. He felt like he was running forever, dodging trees and jumping roots or ducking under vines or tree limbs. His lungs were burning, but his body wasn't slowing down.

He burst through a tree line into an open field, and immediately cursed. He didn't want to be in the open, trees gave obstacles for Jacen to put between him and the creature. Crashing back into the jungle on the other side of the clearing, Jacen's legs were starting burn like his lungs. Fear was still flooding his system with adrenaline though and his pace never faltered. He kept moving, churning his legs through the jungle. He could hear it behind, the ethereal sounds of the creature pressing in on him from behind. Somehow, the minutes passed by and he was still moving. Years seemed to pass in those minutes of running, and somehow, he kept the creature at bay behind him.

He burst out into the open again, cursing aloud through gasping breath. Ahead of him was a concrete column and what looked like two metal bowls fixed to its sides. He bolted toward it, and planned on using it as an obstruction for the creature. Fate had no such intention. He barreled through the invisible fence, and the consequences invaded his head. The sound burned into his eardrums and echoed through his skull. Just a foot past fence, and he fell limp, rolling to a stop and gazing behind him. The black smoke collided with the fence and hit it like an invisible brick wall.

Blackness swirled around his eyes, unconsciousness threatening. Jacen screamed and yelled in his head, trying not to lose control. Heat erupted from his left ear and trickled down his throat, the sensation overwhelmed by the pain in his head. He struggled with his own mind more than the creature, knowing that unconsciousness meant death. The creature was repelled by the fence, but it wasn't giving up. It pounded into it with its mass of smoke, swirling against it. It pressed into it, seeming to break the unseen barrier by a few inches then be pushed back. It roared in pain, the sound lost on Jacen at the moment but it's reverberations he felt in his chest.

He struggled, gripping the earth with his hand and trying to pull himself away from the fence. He couldn't muster the strength, and even with his body flooding adrenaline, darkness crept further into his vision. That stupid old man led him to his painful death. Why did he listen to that old man?!

As the darkness took his mind, the roar of the creature echoed through the jungle again. Lost in anguish, Jacen could do nothing but succumb to the pain and sleep. He fell into the great black unknown, his mind crashing to a stop and halting. He lay there, no more than two feet from the creature that was still assaulting the invisible fence and thought only of her face. Veronica..... He should have stayed at the camp.....

**Three years prior to the crash...**

He should have stayed home.....

It was the only thought coursing through his mind as he stood outside the vault, watching the young bank teller enter a code on a keypad. The poor young girl wasn't going to get it, he thought. It was her third try, and whatever it was she was doing wrong, she kept doing it. But, just as Jacen's pessimistic voice was about to be right, the thick, heavy lock snapped open. The young girl turned around, and stared at the two crooks and Jacen.

"Finally..." The female crook said to her, then motioned her inside with the gun. The young girl pulled the door open, and forcefully pushed it fully open. Inside were large metal plates lining the wall like mailboxes. Jacen realized this wasn't the vault for the bank's money; this was the vault for safety deposit boxes.

"Find number 1623!" The man suddenly barked, showing the same hurried anxiety the woman had been showing the entire time. Jacen's assumption of him being an 'experienced' crook was starting to unravel. The more he saw from them, the more he wondered what they were after. It seemed very important, and they didn't care about the other boxes.

The young teller quickly began searching for the box, her small fingers trailing across a line of boxes. Finally, she reached the correct box, and turned to look at them, "This is it."

"Open it." The female crook retorted.

"I can't, only the customer has the key." The girl replied, the fear welling up in her throat and threatening to come gurgling out.

"Don't lie to me." The woman snarled, and stepped forward. The butt of her gun came crashing down on the forehead of the young girl. Blood quickly began coming out, trickling down her face. The female crook growled, "I don't have time for this! You'd better start thinking, cause I want this box open _now_!"

The male crook turned around and stepped around Jacen. Looking out the vault that led directly into the front lobby, he yelled, "Whoever the manager is, you'd better get in here or the girl gets a bullet!"

Within minutes, an older man with a heavy belly came tumbling through the vault door. His pudgy, pale face was shaking with his hurried movement, and he froze immediately once he saw the bank teller bleeding from her forehead already. Jacen feared the man was going to faint in a moment's notice, and then the two crooks were only going to become angrier.

"I can't open the box, we don't have the keys." The man said.

"Too bad for you." The woman said, raising her gun toward the bank manager about to fire. Jacen saw a moment to act. The male crook was unprepared mentally, and obviously not used to the situation. He began to tense up, the pistol in his hand could have easily been taken and used, and Jacen thought that he would have been quicker than the woman whom would have been caught off guard. The moment passed though, and suddenly the bank manager was lying on the floor with blood leaking from a hole in the back of his head.

Jacen wanted to reach up, to wipe the blood from his face but he was afraid trigger-happy 'Bonnie' might put a bullet in him. When he glanced down at the bank manager, he felt grief in the pit of his stomach. The man was dead because he didn't react, because he didn't follow through with what the years of training in his memory bank flashed through his mind. He should have disarmed the man, firing one round into the woman's neck or forehead. Self-preservation and fear told him to stand there and let the man die. Sadly, he listened.

The bank teller broke down in tears, dropping to her knees and giving in to the scared child within her still. She began to wet the floor with her tears and sob without fear of what Jacen or anybody thought. Jacen's conscience now gnawed at him more, knowing that now this girl watched a man she worked with, and may have been friends with, die in front of her. She wasn't prepared for that, Jacen knew it firsthand. He still remembered his own trauma that haunted his nightmares at times.

"Why did you do that?" The man asked gruffly, agitated with his partner in crime.

She had no reason, only a scowl presenting her dissatisfaction to everybody in the vault. She felt no remorse, and whatever was driving her, was forcing her to extremes. Jacen knew that whatever was in that box was very important to her, and she was going to get it. Jacen wondered what would push the woman this far.

"The girl can't tell us anything! That man was the only hope we had at any information on this box or how to get into it. Now, he's on the floor with a bullet in his head! You're not using _your_ head!" He growled at her.

"We're running out of time, I need in that box. Arguing about who can or can't open the box isn't helping us." She turned and yelled at the girl, "Get his keys, and try them on the box!"

The girl didn't move, sat there on her knees and cried harder. Jacen didn't think she _could_ have cried harder, but somehow the tears spilled in greater drops from her eyes. Jacen stepped forward before the female crook could bark at her again, and said "I'll get it."

Both of the crooks eyed him suspiciously, already untrusting of him. Thinking for a moment, the woman finally said, "Alright, hurry up."

Jacen reached down, searching for the keys on him. Not finding them in his suit jacket pockets, he reached into the man's pants and grabbed the keys from the man's pants pocket. He quickly pulled them out, and held them up, "Found them."

Outside, the front glass windows of the bank filled with flashing red and blue lights. Cop cars screeched to halt in the front of the bank, the formation of a make-shift barrier their first line of defense. Jacen knew that much. They wouldn't enter the bank, but they would lock down the neighborhood and SWAT would be arriving soon.

The female crook cursed, then looked at Jacen, "Come on. I still want in this box."

This was going to get much worse now.....


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**Present day....**

The light was always the first thing he saw....

Shimmering against his closed eyelids, the blast of light against his eyelids stirred him to life. The green grass beneath him was warm from the heat of the sun soaking against it, and the sweet smell of fresh air gently caressed against his body as the wind pressed over him. If not for the pounding headache and taste of coppery blood in his mouth, he would have thought he'd awoken in heaven.

He opened his eyes, the bright sun stabbing against his pale eyes and he quickly closed them again. He wondered for a moment how long he'd been out. The last moments of hurried excitement still banging around his head and he struggled to piece together where he was. Suddenly, his memory came racing back of the smoke...

He jerked up, every sore muscle in his body sharply voicing their dislike of being used so quickly and forcefully. In front him, the concrete pylon stood like a testament of modern man among the natural setting surrounding it. Pain ruptured in his brain, remembering the piercing sound that felt like it was still echoing around his head, and his eyes gazed across the horizon for that great big 'storm cloud' that was chasing him. He saw nothing but green, and closed his eyes. He rubbed his forehead, trying to force some of the pain away.

"Do you love her?" Her voice asked innocently and utterly calm.

Jacen flicked his eyes open, gazing between his fingers. Yeah, he was clearly insane. Worse yet, maybe he was in a coma and this was some dream or nightmare. Maybe the monster cloud had eaten him or whatever it does to its victims... Because somehow, a dead woman stood in front of him. He knew she was dead, he watched her get shot three years ago. The scariest realization was that the bullet hole was still between her eyebrows.

The tall, blonde haired woman stood on the opposite side of the invisible fence. She was calmly stationed a foot from it, her tall, wiry frame standing there on its own power. She had the same clothes on, the same dark skirt and white blouse. Her hair was pulled back in the same ponytail she had worn the last day she was alive. He remembered her quite well.

"Wha.... How are you... ?" Jacen muttered back, trying to get his feet under him to stand but his coordination was still misfiring in his head and he stumbled.

"Do you _love_ Veronica?" She asked, pulling her hands behind her and clasping them together.

Jacen struggled with his feet until finally firmly planting them and shakily raising himself up. He was still weak, struggling to stand to his full height. He could only muster himself to a position leaning forward, leveraging himself against his knees with his hands.

"I.... What?" He asked again, still stupefied.

"She trusts you, finds comfort in you." The dead woman said calmly, eerily stabile. Her blue eyes kept locked onto him, "Are you going to hurt her?"

"Wha... No..... I'm not going to." He said, taking a deep breath and forcing himself to his full height.

"You hurt me...." She answered without flinching, without blinking.

"I...." Jacen started to say, and then noticed from the bullet hole in her forehead, a drop of blood slowly dripped down between her eyebrows and slid down her nose. He struggled to say, "I... You don't understand..."

"Are you sorry you hurt me?" She asked.

"Wha...."

"Are you sorry you took my life?" She asked.

He stared at her, wondering what was going on. He wondered if this was some coma nightmare, and his conscience was leading him toward a fear that he'd been running from his entire life.

"I don't understand what you want.... Why are you here?! Who are you?!" He cried out.

"You know who I am, Jacen." Her voice was exactly as it was in his memory, sending shivers down his spine.

She was right, he did recognize her. He knew it wasn't real, though. This couldn't be real. He argued, "You're dead..."

"Yes...." She answered, as if it were obvious.

"You're... You're thousands of miles away... Your body is six feet under dirt! I watched them bury you!" He retorted, anger welling in chest.

"You can't be here, you're not real!!" He screamed, turning away and looking around behind him. There was the edge of the jungle a hundred feet away, and took a step in that direction.

"You can't run from me... My face is with you everywhere you go...." She said, and in his heart, he knew the truth in that. He turned back around and faced her.

She stepped forward dangerously close to the fence, her face lowering down and her eyes set in a scowl under her bloodied brow. Her deep blue eyes swirled with darkness inside of them, "I'm the face you see on the darkest of nights.... I'm the face that resides in your deepest fears..."

"I..." He started to argue, but couldn't. She was at the core of everything he was running from, everything he tried to leave behind. She was the part of himself that he hated, but couldn't cut away from him.

"I... You.... It was a mistake... I was afraid..." Jacen muttered, years of torment and anguish flooding back over him.

"You took my life...." She whispered back, "Are you sorry you took my life?"

Jacen felt a tear tickle down his cheek, and as he began to speak, emotion choked his throat. He stopped, inwardly fighting back the wave of emotions flooding him. He took a breath, and then tried again, "I'm... I'm sorry... You didn't deserve to die, but I was afraid I was going to die... I was afraid of losing her...."

"I _didn't_ deserve to die, Jacen. But, you killed me. And for _her_?" The girl asked bitterly.

"I couldn't lose her..." Jacen moaned.

"You lost her anyway..." She said, "You lost her because of your own guilt, over me."

"I... I know... I couldn't deal with it. I didn't want to be around her. The cops... The cops blamed them, but I knew what happened. Only me. I couldn't tell her, I couldn't. She thought... she thought I was a good man..." He choked out, more tears trickling down his face. This was all coming so fast, the emotions were sweeping over him. He was running from her memory his whole life, but now he stood in front of her. He wasn't prepared for this.

"All I wanted was a quiet life. That's what I was working for, and I was so close to it...." Jacen said, dropping back down to his knees. Shame weighed on his shoulders like a mountain, "My wife thought I was a good man, she thought I was a hero. I risked my life to protect others, but that was my _job_ and that's how I saw it. She still looked at me like I was a hero when I came home, and she loved me. She loved me more than any woman has in my life, and all I wanted was a life with her. I wanted to stop risking my life, and I wanted to spend the rest with her... When those two came into the bank that day, they threatened that dream... I was scared of losing everything I wanted, everything I needed in my life... I should have saved you. I know, I should have stopped it from happening. But, it was either you or me that was walking out that door..."

"Are you happy with that decision?" She asked, still standing above him.

He shook his head, "No.... I lost everything, even myself.... I wish I had died that day..."

Jacen wept, tears leaking from his eyes and pouring from the guilt that had weaved itself into his very being. Years of suffering and fear led him to keep his secrets in the dark, but the guilt that came from that day and the lying that followed, that guilt began to eat his soul. His wife divorced him and left him, hating him in the final days of their marriage. He tortured himself, trying to drown himself in a glass. He wound up halfway around the world in Australia, running from his own past...

He looked up, about to say something. She was gone. He jumped up to his feet, wiping his eyes with his shirt to clear them. Dried blood scraped across his skin from his shirt, but even with cleared eyes, she was gone. He searched the grass in front of the fence, but he found nothing. No footprints, no flat patches of grass where a foot had been placed. He had looked down so quickly though, she couldn't have had time to disappear that quickly. He stepped close to the fence, searching out toward the jungle's edge but still nothing. Whatever or whoever that was, she was gone.

Was she real? She couldn't have been real. He had watched her die, and then saw her lifeless body in a casket at her funeral. He knew that girl was dead. Yet, somehow there she stood. It had to of been her, only that girl would of known those details. But... how did she know his wife had left him? How did she know so much about his suffering?

He didn't understand anything, but his thoughts were quickly interrupted. From behind him the unnatural sound of whispering came, and shortly after a man stepped from the jungle line on Jacen's side of the fence. From the hundred feet away, Jacen knew who it was. Christian stood there, his perfect suit and strange white tennis shoes on. Jacen walked unsteadily toward him. He wasn't sure about Christian, but he had seemed to help Jacen when he told him to run. Before Christian arrived, the smoke had repelled itself back into the jungle's foliage. When Christian had pointed Jacen in this direction, Jacen at first thought it was to hurt him with the fence. But, Christian must have known the creature couldn't cross the fence. Maybe, he was helping Jacen. He didn't know, but right now, Christian was his only guide.

The hundred yards of terrain between them passed quickly as Jacen walked up to him, cautiously eyeing him and watching the jungle's edge behind him. Jacen suddenly wondered how Christian had crossed the fence without being hurt like Jacen. Yet, nothing about this man even came across as natural.

As Jacen neared him, Christian quickly ordered him, "Come along, we must leave now."

"Why?" Jacen asked.

Without an answer, Christian turned and began walking off into the jungle. Jacen stood a moment, and then regretfully followed him. They walked in complete silence a few minutes, and then Christian stopped next to a tree. The small clearing gave Jacen enough room to stand a few feet from Christian. Still in pain and suffering, Jacen was more than happy to stop and take a break, he leaned forward and propped himself up on his knees again.

"Go," Christian said raising his hand and pointing.

"What?" Jacen asked, still sucking in deep breaths.

"You'll come back around to the fence, and there you have to cross. You cannot trigger it though. It will kill you if you do." Christian stated, looking directly at Jacen. Something about him still felt unnatural, and Jacen wondered if he should trust this man and follow where he was being led. Besides his eeriness, this time he told Jacen he could die. Each conversation seemed to be getting worse.

"Why couldn't we cross back there then?" Jacen asked.

"Your presence isn't welcome here; it's time for you to return to your camp." The older man answered matter-of-factly. Jacen assumed the smoke-snake thing apparently still wanted him dead.

Jacen thought about those words a moment, and then nodded. "Fine," He answered and started to walk away. Before passing Christian, he stopped in front of him and asked, "Why are you helping me?"

"Your destiny isn't here."

"My... destiny? You know my destiny?" Jacen asked.

"There is a purpose for you."

**Three years prior to the crash...**

The heat was the worst part so far. The police, or whoever was in charge at this point, had already cut the power to the building. The dim light from outside the windows was slowly fainting away with the setting sun, and Jacen's only hope was that the cool night might circulate soon. Inside this building, things were steadily warming up over the past three hours.

Jacen leaned back against the front of the wooden desk, his legs laid flat against the floor and his tied hands resting in his lap. The hard plastic ties they used to fasten their wrists together was starting rub his skin raw, irritating him just as much as the heat. Sweat dripped from his brow down his cheek, but he was too tired to wipe it. He sat there, wallowing in his sorrow and self-pity.

She moved next to him, her head lifting from his shoulder. A sudden bright moment in the past hour was flashing up when the female bank teller lifted her head. She sighed, letting the breath out of her lungs and Jacen wanted to stuff the hot breath back into her mouth. She wasn't helping him cool down, and only out of pity for her did he allow her to rest her body against him. He could feel his left arm nestled behind her arm and against her side, the sauna of heat between their skin and sweat that had gathered really starting to drive him crazy.

"I'm so tired but I can't sleep...." She whined softly.

Others around them looked at her, all of them waiting in nervous expectation of _something_ to happen. None of them really knew what was going to happen though; the police and the crooks were at a stalemate. Even Jacen had given up hope trying to anticipate the next event.

"It's just your nerves, and all the excitement we went through. Don't worry, don't be afraid. Nothing's going to happen now..." Jacen told her, not even sure of the truthfulness to it though. Two people were already dead. The bank manager was lying outside of the vault where Jacen was told to leave him. The elderly woman that was shot when this all started had finally bled out, and now she laid on her bank with a man's coat over her. Two women sitting in front of the bank's counter were trying to comfort a third woman who had been trying to save the elderly woman. Nothing could be done though, that woman was going to die today.

"I'm scared... What's going to happen?" She asked, the bank teller looking over at Jacen. Her blonde hair was starting to frazzle around her ponytail, and her white blouse was showing signs of sweat as well. The heat wasn't just getting to Jacen at least.

"The police negotiator will be trying to make a deal with the crooks, but I'm not sure what will happen. These two... Something was different about them. They're not here for money, I don't think." Jacen said, looking over at the office that was opposite all of them but in clear view. About twenty feet away, the wooden door of the bank manager's office was closed. The large glass front of his office though displayed the female crook sitting at the desk and talking on the phone. The male crook stood at the window, rarely taking his eyes off the group. Jacen knew he was nervous that he or any of the other hostages would try something.

"What are they after?" A man asked from across the small space between the desk Jacen leaned on and the front counter of the bank where the man leaned against.

"Don't know, whatever is in that deposit box." Jacen answered.

"Probably jewelry." The middle-aged woman next to him shook her head, saying.

"Doubt it..." Jacen answered, adjusting himself and trying to distance himself from the bank teller. She adjusted with him, keeping her weight against him. Maybe she found comfort in just being close to him. Jacen didn't know, but he hated it at the moment. He cleared his throat, "If they were after jewelry, they'd open other boxes or be trying to. They're not. They're after what's in that one, specific box. Something is in there that they need, and whatever it is, it's going to cost them."

"What could be in there that's worth going through this?" The man asked across from Jacen.

"Don't know. It's not a big box, maybe the size of two shoeboxes stacked atop each other. It can't be that big, but it's definitely important." Jacen replied.

The bank teller's head snapped around to Jacen, "We can check who owns the box..."

Jacen looked over at her, "What?"

"I can login into the bank's systems with my account, and even though I can't change anything, I can see whose name is listed for the box." She said, happy that she suddenly found herself useful.

"What good would that do us?" The man asked.

"We could give it to them, they can use it to have the police contact whoever's box that is and they can figure out what to do. This'll all be over." She said.

"Yeah, and we'll be dead." Jacen muttered.

"What?"

"You give them the info; they get into the box eventually. We don't know what's in there; they may not have any desire to leave the bank with whatever is in that box. This could be a one-way trip..." Jacen said.

"No way, they just want-" She began to reply.

"No, he's right," The man said, butting in. He shook his head, "Don't give them that info. They could be terrorists for all we know."

"What kind of terrorist blows up a bank?" She asked snidely.

"Who says just the bank? There could be anything in that box. It could be a bomb big enough to blow up a city block. They're not out to kill everybody at once, they'll do it one bank at a time." The man argued back.

"Stop-" Jacen started to say.

"That's stupid!" The bank teller jumped in over him.

"You're being stupid!" The man yelled.

"Stop! You're drawing attention." Jacen practically yelled.

The sudden movement and loud noise apparently attracted the attention of the man at the window. The male crook stepped outside the office and yelled, "What's going on? Knock it off!"

"Sorry-" Jacen started to say, making up some reason for him to be happy with and walk away. The young bank teller, though, had no intention of that happening.

"Hey, I can check-"

"Shut up!" The man yelled.

"-who's safety deposit box it is. I can give you a name!" She yelled over the man.

The male crook thought a moment, then started walking over to her. He looked down at her, "How?"

"I can login to my account, cross-reference the name. You can use it to get the cops to get the key from whoever has it. You can get in the box..." She said, almost begging him to believe her.

He stopped in front of her, thinking a moment. His eyes kept locked on her face, and he finally said, "Yeah, alright. Get up." He reached down, grabbing her hands that were tied just like Jacen's and yanked her up. She popped up to her feet. He asked, "Which computer?"

"Any of them," She said, and turned around to the desk she was leaning against, "This will work."

She stepped around its side with him right behind her. In the large office window, the female crook was still on the phone but clearly interested in what was happening out here. The bank teller sat in the chair, and the man stood right next to her, the barrel of his pistol resting against her shoulder. He warned her, "Don't do anything stupid, this is your only warning."

The girl nervously went to typing, and Jacen could only hear her quick taps of each key. He had turned, watching with full attention what was happening just like every hostage in the room was. He was nervous, knowing that this was reckless. If they lost value, the crooks could start shooting again to thin their numbers to whatever they needed to get out of the bank. This girl was stupid, and eventually going to get herself killed or everybody else.

"Here it is," She said, then typed a few more things. She pointed at the screen, and the male crook looked at it. He nodded, and then motioned with his gun, "Unplug it and go sit back down."

"What?" She asked.

"You're done, go sit down."

"I helped you, let me leave." She begged.

He grabbed her tied hands and pulled her from the chair. As she tried to keep her feet beneath her, he practically dragged her back around the desk and dropped her forcefully onto the floor next to Jacen. She hit hard against the floor, and looked back at the crook. Tears trickled down her face, and she yelled, "This isn't fair! I helped you. Let me _go_!"

"Can't do that, kid. Shut up." The crook said and walked away.

The girl started to yell something else but Jacen grabbed her arm and drew her attention back to him. He shook his head, making it clear she needed to shut up. Jacen turned and watched the man walk away, listening very intently to the crook's next words.

"I got a name, tell them I got a name," the man said, the female crook turning and saying something back. Jacen couldn't hear it, and he barely heard the next words from the male crook, "The name is Widmore. Charles Widmore. Tell them to get the key from him within the hour or we're putting a bullet in another hostage's head." The crook pulled the office door closed behind him.

The man across from them shook his head, "Good job..."

"Leave her alone." Jacen warned him. She acted out of fear, and Jacen understood that. He'd felt it himself a few hours ago, and the result of his fear was a dead man. He empathized with her, and now felt sorry for her. At least she learned a lesson from this though. Maybe she'd keep her mouth shut and listen to the people around her next time, instead of listening to her fear.

Jacen leaned his head back against the desk, and the young bank teller with frazzled blonde hair, a white blouse damp with sweat, and now a dirty, black skirt from being thrown on the floor, leaned her head back against his shoulder. Looking over at the front of the bank building, Jacen saw the cop cars lining the road about twenty feet from the windows. The red and blue lights were flashing with a distinct rhythm against the glass windows, and faces of officers could be seen between the flashes of light.

Jacen watched the sun setting through between a few buildings, knowing the sunset was here. The orange glow of the sky filtered down against everything below it, and soon, the darkness of night would be filled with the flashing lights of the cop cars. Jacen sighed, and felt the girl's head against his shoulder. This was at least going to end soon; a man by the name of Charles Widmore would soon be getting a call that his safety deposit box was being threatened and its contents about to be opened. Either his key would be given to the crooks, or the SWAT officers outside would soon be acting. Either way, it was more than likely going to become very dangerous inside this bank.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**Present day...**

Christian isn't real....

He couldn't be real. None of this could be real. Jacen had to be in a coma on the beach, still waking up with a broken rib. This was all some doped up story that nobody could understand and couldn't even be explained. Jacen had seen up close the pillar of smoke that was following him like a dog in heat, and not to mention this unnatural beast was somehow scared away by some old guy in a suit. Nobody would believe this story, so how was he going to explain to Veronica that he spent half the day on the other side of some fence that could hold back smoke... No, he couldn't even explain it to himself.

He muttered to himself, cursing under his breath as walked through the hot jungle. The sweat and dried blood on him was now mixing into a crimson pudding against his skin. His head was still aching, and he started to assume it was just from the attempt to understand the past twenty four hours of his life and not the invisible fence.

He stepped around a tree, and suddenly found himself standing in front of the fence again, exactly as Christian told him. This time it was much closer to the tree line, so close that a tall, dead tree was leaning out over the top of the fence. The tree was partially dead, pushed over by wind and age. But, Jacen was assuming the freaky old guy wasn't lying and that if he tried walking through it, he would be killed.

Within a few minutes, Jacen was halfway up the tree. He shimmied his way over and then let himself slide under and hang under the tree from his hands and legs wrapped around it. Pulling himself most of the way out across the tree, he looked under him and saw he was directly over the fence. He pulled himself a few feet further and the dropped down to his feet, landing with a heavy thud against the ground.

"That was too easy..." He muttered, looking into the jungle and expecting his smokey friend to come slithering out. But it didn't, and all he could hear was the ambience of jungle life.

He shrugged and moved off toward the jungle's edge, walking casually. He thought back to the woman at the fence though as he neared the jungle's edge and merged into it. She couldn't have been real, just some trick of the mind after what had happened. The fence could have done anything to scramble Jacen's head, and waking up from that trauma, Jacen's brain was confused. He knew she wasn't there, she was dead. He knew he had shot the girl years ago in that bank, taking an innocent life had marked his conscience since that day.

The reality of dealing with that though, the emerging demon from his conscience, had paid a heavy price on his heart. All the guilt and fear he had buried was newly dug up and scratching against his brain, digging into it and making him recall the memories.

The hardest part was how real she was, and how looking into her eyes brought back the memory so clearly. She was still wearing the clothes from the bank and still bleeding from her forehead where the bullet hit her. Her death, though, meant the lives of everybody else in that bank. Was it really that.... No, he'd been down this road before. What happened, happened. Dead is dead.

Lost in thought, he had forgotten how far he had walked. Reaching the stream at which he had started his flight from the monster, he was reminded of his original goal of coming into the jungle. He stood at the stream's edge, looking downstream. He didn't recognize this part of the stream, but he knew it was the same. This island wasn't that big, and he knew he was heading in the right direction.

He thought for a moment, turning to look upstream. The past day had been horrible, and all he wanted was to get back to the camp and find a cot or warm piece of sand near the fire to lay on. Maybe Veronica would have some pity on him and give him a shoulder to rest on or at least just be near him. He needed something calm right now.

But, thinking of her made him realize that he'd be returning to a camp without a water source. People were going to be panicking, and he didn't need to deal with that now. He sighed, looking at the water flowing toward him and he knew he needed to go. Death was always a consequence of any action on this island, even sitting in the camp would eventually lead there.

He started a slow walk upstream, following its edge and letting his boots leave their prints in the soft muddy shore. Looking around him, he realized how peaceful it actually was in the jungle. The swaying of the treetops in the wind above him scattered the light through the canopy and flashed over him occasionally. The heat from the jungle engulfing him was the only bad part, but the gentle wind piercing the jungle gently caressed him as he walked. He was actually happy. He knew he needed to think this too. Finding a little bit of comfort, a little peace, in the most trying and difficult of times helped anybody deal with their burdens and fears. He needed this moment.

But, as things have always happened, it didn't last. The ambience of the jungle was suddenly quieted by voices, and clatter and crunch of movement. Jacen crouched, and hurried forward to a wide tree trunk. Ducking behind it, he scanned around him. A few hundred feet away, the terrain elevated up the slope of a hill. Near the base of the hill, though, was an opening, a cave. In front of that cave were people that Jacen recognized. The first face he locked his eyes onto was Veronica, standing outside and talking to the pregnant girl.

He stumbled forward, pushing through some foliage and walked quickly toward the cave. Alarmed by the noise, the pregnant took a step back but Veronica turned and looked. Spotting Jacen, her face sparked in recognition and she jogged over to him. Surprising Jacen, she fell against him and wrapped her arms tightly around his chest, ignoring the sweat and the blood along his neck and head. He hesitated, and then hugged her back.

Finally letting go, and looking at him, she yelled, "Where have you been?!"

He smirked, "Looking for water, but you guys beat me here, I guess."

She shook her head, "You're bleeding, what happened?"

"I....," He started to say, and then thought about his decision. He knew his story was nowhere near believable, and he didn't need people thinking he was insane. However, he did know the fence was real and would be there. He could take someone back to show them, but he couldn't explain how he got there without talking about running away from some puffy smoke cloud and listening to Christian. He said, "I had an accident, fell and hit my head. Think it knocked me out for a few hours."

"Oh my god," Veronica said, and grabbed his hand. By now, a few people had gathered to see him and the commotion going on. Veronica turned and pulled him along behind her, leading him into the cave, "Come on. We'll have Jack look at you."

"I'm fine, just got hurt." He said, but followed after her.

"You've gotta be cautious, you don't know what kind of diseases or viruses are on this island." She replied.

Walking into the interior of the cave, Jacen was surprised at the room inside. It was nice, and already, most of the people from the beach camp were here. Walking past everyone, Jacen enjoyed the moment of her hand in his. He didn't know why he was obsessing over it or her for that matter. He was a twenty six year old man, and this wasn't the first girl he'd ever spent time with by far. Something about her sparked in him, and maybe the years of loneliness had a heavier toll on him.

"Where's Jack?" Veronica asked, stepping up to a few people.

"He's back at the beach camp getting some supplies, what happened?" A shorter woman with dark hair and a patch of freckles across her nose asked. Following her, a familiar face came toward Jacen. John Locke was eyeing Jacen cautiously.

"Had an accident." Jacen replied, pointing to his head with his free hand.

"An accident? Looks pretty bad..." The freckled woman said, inspecting him.

"Yeah, got careless and fell a few feet."

John was eyeing him pretty closely, then finally said, "You sure you fell?"

"Yeah... why?" Jacen asked, eyeing John back.

He smiled that goofy grin Jacen had seen a few times, and then John said, "Just making sure I got the story right..."

It was good to be back. He was surprised more than anything by Veronica's helpfulness. It was like having his own personal nurse. She barely knew Jacen, though, and by any normal standards, nobody should be this friendly after having two conversations. He put that worry away from his mind though.

He had went down the stream a little away from where people were drinking, and tried to wash some of the dirt and blood from him. Using a torn shirt of her own, Veronica gently dipped it into water and helped to clean him up some. It felt good, the cool water dripping down his skin and the gently brushing of her hand. Once he was clean, they walked back up to the cave as darkness was falling. The jungle around them was quickly cooling down, and near the front of the cave, the other survivors had a fire burning.

Veronica helped him sit near it, using a log the survivors had chopped down to support his back. As she gently slid in next to him, he took a deep breath of fresh air and felt the warmth of the fire radiating off of him. This was the calm moment he was wanting as he limped back from the fence, and once here, it was exactly as he wanted it. And, that was the whole reason Jacen was being cautious. His life had never worked out this much for the good or even how he wanted it, he expected more trouble with his story but nobody had questioned him really. Not even Veronica had, but he was sure she would eventually.

Footsteps drew his attention to his left past Veronica and he saw Jack walking up to him. As he neared, Jack asked, "So how you feeling?"

"Fine, just a little headache." Jacen replied.

"You feel tired or anything?" Jack asked, looking into his eyes. Jack wasn't soul-searching though, he was looking for medical signs on Jacen.

"No, just sore."

Jack nodded, pulling his backpack off of him and dropping it on the ground in front of him. He looked over at Veronica, "Is he acting alright? Losing his balance or slurring words?"

She shook her head, "No, he hasn't. Why?"

"Just asking." Jack answered, and looked back at Jacen, "So what happened?"

"Well, I knew we were running out of water so I left this morning to explore out here a little to find some, but I made it to the stream bed about a mile downstream. I didn't see the drop though; I thought I'd heard something behind me. Next thing I knew, I was falling forward, and I smacked into the water. Woke up later, dragged myself back here." Jacen answered.

Jack nodded, and then said, "You shouldn't have come out here alone, next time come talk to me before you leave. It's dangerous out here, and if you'd broken your leg, we might not of ever found you."

"Alright, Doc. I'll check with you next time."

Jack pulled a bottle from his pack, and retrieved two pills from it. He gave them to Jacen, "It's just pain killers to help you through tonight, but I can't spare a lot. Tomorrow, you'll have to go without them."

Jacen nodded, holding them in his hand. Jack got up and grabbed his pack, then looked over at Veronica, "Can I talk to you a second?"

"Sure." Veronica said, and stood up. Together, Jack and Veronica walked away from Jacen and completely out of his range of hearing. Jacen didn't like the doc taking her away to talk private; he didn't like not knowing what was going on. A part of him didn't even like the doc talking to Veronica and getting close to her.

Jacen grabbed the water bottle Veronica had left between them, and took the two pills. They looked like Tylenol, so he assumed they were. He didn't care though, his head was pounding and he really wanted to sleep. He dropped the water bottle back down next to him.

"You're lucky." A voice said from Jacen's right. He turned to locate the source and found John sitting on the end of the log a couple feet away. He held a mango in his hand and was slicing it open with an oversized knife.

"How so?" Jacen asked.

"You fell into the streambed. The water and soft soil probably saved some of your impact, lessening the fall." John said, and offering the mango to Jacen. He shook his head and John shrugged. He continued, "You must of fell _just_ right to not break an arm or a leg, or even gash yourself open for that matter. The only blood I saw on you looked like it was coming from your ears. You must have landed on your head then..."

Jacen locked eyes with John, and after waiting a few seconds asked, "Yeah, guess I was lucky."

"Why are you lying?" John asked outright, and calmly ate a piece of his mango.

"Who says I am, John?" Jacen asked.

John looked at him with his eyes that seemed different from Jack's. John's gaze actually felt like it was searching through your soul, looking deeper into you than other people can. Jacen held his ground though; he knew what intimidation felt like. He'd used it before.

"Just wondering, you know. Maybe you hit your head so hard you don't remember the way it really happened..." John said.

Jacen shook his head, "No, that's how it happened."

With that, they both sat there quietly listening to the crackle of the fire. The dark night had encroached finally upon them, and the only light sources were the moonlight from the entrance to the cave and the fire. Across from Jacen and John, two people had remained but now, they were standing and leaving. Only Jacen and John would still be here, and Veronica was nowhere to be seen. He wished she would return.

"You look like somebody that's got demons chasing them...." John said.

Jacen's mind starting flying, caught off-guard. Did he know? Did he know about the smoke? Had he seen Jacen somewhere, or did he know about Christian? All of Jacen's questions flooded through his mind, but he kept his cold stare into the fire and sat there stoically.

"Why do you say that?" Jacen asked.

"If I had a mirror, I could show you."

"Do you believe in demons, John?" Jacen asked, finally turning and looking at him.

John took another bite of his mango, chewing slowly. Swallowing, he turned back to Jacen and answered, "I believe we all have demons chasing us, and unless we face them, they'll eventually kill us."

John tossed his mostly eaten mango out of the cave and into some brush. He closed his knife and stood up to his full height. Something about him was different than the others, and Jacen wondered who this man really was. He seemed so confident and sure of himself.

"Next time you want to go out into the jungle, come find me. I want to go with you." John said.

"Why?" Jacen asked.

"Because I believe we're both searching for answers." John said, then turned and walked away toward the front of the cave.

As Jacen watched him walk away, he felt different about John. He didn't like him at first, felt like he was making trouble for Jack and the others. But, now he felt like John was different. John wasn't just trying to survive; he was trying to understand... life here. This island was more than just a patch of earth they were surviving on, Jacen knew that already from his explorations and experiences. There was something special about this island, and while it threatened Jacen with death, he felt like it was promising something else to John Locke.

"Are you okay?" Veronica asked as she plopped back down next to him, and slid up against him.

"Yeah... Yeah, I'm good." He said.

"Good." She said, and looked into the fire with Jacen. Even he, the forlorn and solitary traveler for the past three years of his life felt the romanticism of the moment.

"Can I ask you something?"

She smirked, "Of course."

"What did Jack want?"

She answered, "Claire's been having dreams at night, and he wants me to keep an eye on her."

"Claire?" He asked.

"The pregnant girl," She smirked, "You should really branch out to other people than following me around like a puppy?"

"I can't help it, you look like fun."

She laughed, "And what does that mean, Jacen?"

He shook his head, "I'm not explaining anything. If I'm that bad at sending signals, then I don't deserve it."

She smirked, "Easy boy. I know we're stuck on an island and it's pretty boring sometimes, but let's not move that fast. How about we go back to talking about you?"

"That's a boring subject." He answered.

"Then what are we going to talk about?" She asked.

"Let's talk about us."

**Three years prior to the crash...**

The cool night air had encroached on them, slithering through the cracks in the front door and swarming across the floor. Jacen could feel it lingering across his legs and around his hips, slowly crawling up his right arm with patient vengeance. The only warmth was the pretty, young blonde next to him, nestled against him and shivering. His left arm was buried under her arm and against her side, so close he felt each intake of her breath. She barely moved, but he knew she wasn't sleeping. None of them were, despite it being now three in the morning.

Jacen looked around the lobby of the bank, looking at the forlorn and pathetic faces of the individuals stuck in here with him. Many were huddled together for warmth and companionship as well, but in all their faces Jacen could see either fear or sadness. The woman that had cared for the dying lady had cried herself dry of tears, now she only sat there staring into the marble floor. Her shirt had dried with the blood of the woman, and her arms from her elbows down were now a dark crimson in the night. Jacen sighed, and looked at the man across from him. He was in his late forties or early fifties, growing a belly in his older years and a beard as white as snow. He had a dark suit on, now with tie loosened and his shirt buttons near his collar undone. Next to him, two younger women sat, who obviously felt in this man's presence a protection and comfort. He had a fatherly appearance and mannerism about him, which lent to his presence.

"We need to be doing something." Jacen said quietly, staring at the man.

The man looked up at him, deep blue eyes set into the face worn by years. His deep voice answered, "What about SWAT or the cops out there?"

"They're not going to enter. They don't know two people are dead because if they did, they would have already entered. We're on our own right now." Jacen answered. The girls next to the older man stirred at those words, deeply interested in this conversation.

"You got a plan?" The older man asked.

"No, but we need to come up with one," Jacen said, and then turned and looked down at the office the two crooks were currently inhabiting. Occasionally, the man would look out the window at all the hostages but right now, they were both concentrated on their phone call. Jacen looked back over at the man, "If we can separate them, I can take the guy out myself. The girl is still hurting from where I hit her earlier, might have cracked a rib when I landed on her. She's been favoring it."

"I can handle her, don't worry." The man answered, "But, how we going to separate them?"

"I don't know. If they bring the key, one of them has to get it. But, it's been too long. I don't think its coming." Jacen thought out loud.

"Yeah, I gave up on that hope an hour ago." The bank teller next to Jacen spoke up, her voice quivering and weak. Jacen felt a twinge of pain in his heart for her. Jacen focused back on the situation though.

"What if we start a fight? Maybe they'll come out and separate us that way." The older man said.

Jacen shook his head, "No, they're too nervous, too trigger-happy. I think this is their first heist, so I don't trust them to keep their cool. They might shoot one of us."

"Bathroom? One of us or one of the girls asks to go?" The man wondered.

"Maybe...," Jacen said, thinking about it. It left too many possibilities for mistakes though, and while the older man was willing, he may not have been able to do what Jacen needed. Jacen sat there in silent thought a moment, and then asked, "Can you get up with your hands tied like this?"

The man looked down at the plastic ties around his wrists, and then back at Jacen, "I don't know, I'm not as limber as I used to be."

Jacen nodded, "That's fine." He turned and nudged the bank teller with his shoulder, "You got a knife or something around here I can cut these ties with?"

"What?" She asked, lifting her head from his shoulder and looking at him with her watery, light blue eyes.

She reminded him of his wife, the same color eyes and depth of emotion behind them. Jacen forced that thought away; if he thought about his wife then he'll lose his cool head. He needed to be calm, and he needed to be unafraid. He nodded, "I need something to cut these ties off him."

She thought for a moment. Strands of her blonde hair fell across her eyes, and Jacen fought the urge to remember his wife in his head. Those curly blonde locks of hair, and the smell of her skin..... He blinked, and forced it out of his head, "There's gotta be something."

"Yeah, pair of scissors. One of the old ladies here has arthritis, and she uses a pair of scissors to cut the paper bands from the folds of money.... She keeps it under her money drawer." The bank teller replied.

"Good," Jacen said, getting his legs underneath of him and watching the window of the office. The two crooks were deeply interested in their conversation on the phone, the male crook with his back turned to them, "Which drawer?"

"Umm," The bank teller looked over at the counter, and pointed at the end of the counter toward the end of bank near the office, "Second from the wall."

Jacen cursed in his head, and then said, "Alright. Let's hope I make it...."

He stood up into a crouched position and walked across the bank floor slowly to the side the old man was on. The older man was staring at the office window watching, "Wait... Get down!"

Jacen flipped around and landed with a thud against the front of the counter. The girl between Jacen and the older man held back a yelp as Jacen landed hard against her shoulder. She bit her tongue and kept quiet. At the window, the female crook on the phone was staring out the window, tapping a pencil while talking on the phone. Something angered her though and her face scrunched together, and she barked something into the phone. The answer wasn't better and she threw the pencil against the wall, and it stuck. She swiveled in the office chair, and faced the wall with the pencil lodged into the plaster.

Jacen hopped to his feet, and leaped onto his stomach on the counter. The older man quietly barked at him to hurry and Jacen rolled across and fell hard against the marble floor on the other side of the counter. He fought the urge to cry out in pain as his knee throbbed, but he let out only a long breath of air he'd been holding. He struggled to get his knees under him, and he coughed out, "Am I okay?"

"You tell me son, you landed hard." The older man answered quietly.

"I'm fine, did they see me?" Jacen asked gruffly, getting his feet under him and crouching down. He was safely hidden behind the counter as long he remained low.

"Nope, hurry up though." The older man barked, and Jacen flew quickly down along the back of the counter. With the office door closed, they couldn't hear much so he knew he didn't have to worry as much about how much sound he made. Arriving at the correct money drawer, Jacen stood up and eased his head over the counter's lip to see the office door and window. From this angle, they'd have to intentionally look over here. Assuming he was safe, Jacen stood up enough to see the top of the cashier drawer and tapped around on the computer keyboard above the drawer. Finally, after selecting a few options, the lock of the drawer snapped open and Jacen pulled the drawer. Sitting in the bottom of the drawer, a pair of blue-handled scissors rested there. He quickly grabbed them, and ran back along the counter, crouched.

Coming back to the safe spot he toppled over last time, he stopped and listened. It was still dead quiet, and Jacen finally asked, "Is it safe?"

"Yeah, I think so." The older man's low voice answered.

Jacen hopped up and rolled over the top of the counter, landing on his feet next to the man the two girls huddled near him. Jacen dropped the scissors on the ground next to the girl, and then hustled back across the floor. He turned and slid back into his spot next to the bank teller, lightly sweating and now very cold as the cool air washed over him. In the window, the two crooks were still on the phone and still very angry. Looking over at the man, Jacen saw the girl next to the older man cut his plastic ties from his wrists.

"Alright, so now what?" The older man asked, taking the scissors and starting to cut the girl's ties next to him.

"Now, I'm going to get the guy to take me back into the vault." Jacen answered, slowing his breathing back to its normal, docile rate.

"Why? Let's just cut everybody's bindings and we can take them both." The man retorted.

"No. We need to do this smart. I don't want all of these people trying to be heroes, too easy for a mistake to happen and somebody else to die." Jacen answered.

"How you going to get back in the vault?" The man asked. After releasing himself and the two girls next to him, he put the scissors on the floor in front of him and slid them across the floor. Stopping it dead with his boot, Jacen picked them up and held them in his hands.

The bank teller next to him put her hands on his thigh, and looked at him. He shook his head, "Sorry, I can't."

"Why not?" She whined, "Please, I'll do whatever you say."

"No, too many people free will create problems." Jacen felt the guilt in the pit of his stomach, and putting the scissors back onto the floor, he slid them back across the floor to the old man, "Use them only when I got these two out of the way, then release everybody."

The man nodded, "Okay, but how are you going to handle them?"

"I'm thinking..."

"I thought you said if you got them in the vault." One of the girls next to the older man said.

"Yeah, in those close quarters I'll have a chance to take him down without him getting a chance to react, but you'll have to deal with that girl," Jacen said, "But I don't know how I'm going to get him to take me in there..."

"Well," The man said, giving the scissors to the girl next to him who hid them in her blouse. The man folded his hands in his lap as if he was still tied, and said, "Let's come up with a plan, cause I think 'Bonnie and Clyde' are getting antsy."

Jacen looked over as the woman pounded the phone back into the receiver and the man paced along the window. The man was right, these two crooks were not getting what they wanted and pretty soon, they'd start making their point by sending dead bodies to the front door. Jacen sighed. While they'd made progress, they still had a long way to go and short time to get there.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**Present day...**

He awoke to the cool air of the cave, and the smell of all of the survivors in the cave. He had thought it was bad enough when they were on the beach, but in the cave the smell just lingered and intensified. Surely, after almost two weeks that the trauma of the crash would be over and people would start caring for themselves. All Jacen could smell was body odor and obnoxious gas that a few released while others slept. So far, Jacen wasn't enjoying the cave idea.

Next to him, Veronica laid on a make-shift bed pieced together with a blanket and a few large leaves for padding. She was less than a foot away, lying on her side and breathing softly. Jacen could see the rise and fall of her side with each deep intake of breath, and for the first time, Jacen noticed her necklace. Usually, she kept it beneath her shirt and Jacen assumed it was because she was afraid of someone else on the island taking it. As she slept somberly now, the necklace had fallen from her v-neck, white t-shirt and the piece of jewelry attached to her necklace was resting on the blanket below her. It was a silver ring. He couldn't see any diamond or stone attached to it, or even any markings. It was a simple, silver band. He wondered who gave it to her, and why she kept it so close to her. That had to be an engagement ring. Was she engaged? She was a pretty big flirt if she was engaged.... A part of him felt lied to.

Jacen sat up, and groggily wiped his face with his hand. The sun was shining in the entrance of the cave, but around Jacen, nobody was moving. He stood up quietly and wandered out of the cave entrance, standing in the sunlight. It felt so warm against his skin; he stretched himself and after smelling his own body odor, decided it was a good time for a clean-up. He glanced behind him, and noticed Veronica sitting up and rubbing her right eye.

"Good morning." He said, and waved.

She smiled with her lips, "Morning."

"I'm going to go clean up some." He said.

She nodded, "Yeah, I need to also." She stood up from her bed and dusted herself off. She walked over to him, and then said, "Lead the way."

Together they walked downstream a ways to get away from everybody else and get some privacy. They didn't talk much; mornings were not the loveliest of times for people. Neither of them really wanted to get too close to the other person, since that would mean an up-close look at morning faces and the smell of morning breath. Jacen knew all too well from being married that mornings were not good times for flirting or anything more. Not until everybody had a shower, at least.

As Veronica walked further downstream and out of Jacen's view, he began to clean himself up. Around twenty minutes later, he was sitting on the stream's edge and waiting on her. Another fifteen minutes and she finally came back, looking very clean and very pretty.

"Wow, if you can clean up that good from a stream in a jungle, you must really be a heartbreaker when you have a complete bathroom." Jacen said.

"I've never had a complaint." She winked at him, "What's your plan for today?"

"Well, I wanted to stop back by the beach and clean out my old hut, and see how life was back on the beach still. I haven't seen Hurley since I've been back to the cave, I'm wondering how he's been too." Jacen answered.

"Aww, does Jay-Jay have a buddy?" She teased him.

He smirked, "Well, you'd be his buddy too if you'd seen him in that polka-dot bikini...."

She raised an eyebrow, "So, am I wasting my time here then?"

He shook his head, "I don't know, I'd have to see you in that polka-dot bikini. But so far, Hurley's winning."

She laughed, and together they headed off toward the beach camp. At first they didn't talk much, the heat of the jungle hit them pretty fast, and as soon as he was surrounded by trees again, Jacen grew paranoid. He had a bad feeling that ole' Smokey was going to try for him again, and he was starting to really hate that thing. As they walked, he kept scanning the area around him. Apparently, Veronica picked up on his nervousness cause she grew quiet as well, only asking a few questions. After the few failed attempts at conversation, she reserved herself to quiet marching.

As they neared the camp after a couple hours, she asked him a question again, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, why?" He answered, inwardly trying to quiet his nerves.

"You just weren't acting like yourself," She said, both of them exiting the tree line and finding themselves on the familiar sandy beaches that Jacen had missed. This place felt more like home, gave him more of a calm spirit. The cave didn't feel safe to him, too close to the jungle and what was hiding within it. Veronica continued talking, "You can talk to Jacen. I'm not going to go telling your secrets and I'm definitely not going to think less of you for any reason."

"How do you know that?" Jacen asked, walking toward his old hut, "You don't know me anymore than I really know you."

"I know you're a nice guy with a good heart." She replied.

"Do you?" He asked, noticing somebody in his hut. Sawyer walked out of the front of it, and flipped his hair back after seeing Jacen. He didn't look happy, but he didn't look apologetic either. Jacen growled, "What are you doing?"

"Finders, keepers. You left your stuff behind, I found it," He said, holding some of Jacen's old clothes and a few of other things. None of it was really valuable except the tube of toothpaste that Jacen found, which was very rare to have on the island.

"Well, guess what. I want it back." Jacen said, holding his hand out.

"Look Gilligan, why don't you and the Mexican Mary-Ann go wrap bamboo together and build a car? This stuff is now mine." Sawyer said, and turned to walk away.

Jacen grabbed his arm, and flipped him back around to face him, "Look, I limped back to the cave after falling and busting my head open while looking for water for _all_ of us. If you want to be a smart-"

"Jacen," Veronica said, and grabbed his arm, "Leave him alone. It's fine."

Jacen stopped talking, but Sawyer and Jacen kept their eyes locked. Neither of them was going to back down, and while other people let Sawyer bully them, Jacen wasn't going to have it. He reached out, and snatched his toothpaste before Sawyer could react.

"You can have the clothes, but this is mine." Jacen said, sticking it in the back of his jeans.

Sawyer eyed him for a moment, and Jacen wondered if he'd actually fight him for his junk. Eventually, Sawyer shook his head, "Whatever, I got plenty."

As Sawyer walked away, Jacen let himself relax and the tension ease out of him. He'd been chased after and bullied by a puff of smoke, and almost died. Sawyer picked a bad time to try to throw his weight around. Jacen took a breath and calmed himself down.

"That was stupid." Veronica said.

"I wanted my toothpaste...." Jacen said, and walked inside of his tent.

"It's just toothpaste, what's the big deal?" She asked, chasing after him into the tent.

"It's mine, and he took it. That's the big deal. What do you care?" Jacen asked, his voice rising lightly. He was already aggravated, and getting lectured now wasn't helping.

"There are other ways of dealing with him than seeing who can punch the other the hardest..." She said, "I don't want to see you get hurt again."

He shook his head, "I wasn't. I can deal with him, he's all bark."

"Jacen..." She sighed.

He tried to push his anger down, but looking around his post-scavenged hut was not helping. He turned around, raising his voice to just over his normal level, "He's got no right coming into my hut, and I was gone for two days! He can't go taking people's stuff; somebody's gotta show him..."

As he started to leave the tent and go after Sawyer, Veronica stood in front of him and put her hands on his chest to stop him. She wasn't angry; he could see that in her eyes. She was hurt. He sighed, and asked, "Why do you care?"

"Because I do," She said. She shook her head, "I care what happens to you. You wandered off into the jungle, and disappear for a while. I was worried enough you wouldn't come back, but when you do, you stumble into the cave bleeding from your head. Do you know how that made me feel?"

"I'm sorry you were worried, but I can take care of myself."

She stood there looking at him, a depth of emotion in her eyes that Jacen was blind to. His focus was still on surviving everything he was dealing with, and not her. The past few days had been bad enough, but now he had his own fellow survivor taking from him. The smoke he couldn't fight, but Sawyer he could. Those thoughts made him blind to her though. Even though he could have seen the hurt in her eyes, he wasn't able to right now.

"Maybe, but what about me? You ever think I need you right now? This place scares me..." She said, fighting back a tear swimming in her eye.

"Stop. Stop doing that to me." Jacen said, holding his hands in protest.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"I saw the ring. That's an engagement ring, which means another man gave it to you. Just because we're stuck on an island doesn't mean you should lead me on just so you can feel safe." Jacen blurted out, but then regretted it.

She started to say something in anger, but she lost her words. The anger that flooded her face though was quickly overpowered by hurt, and her eyes were welling up with tears. She started to yell at him again, but her voice failed her. She shook her as a few tears started to fall, and the anger that still simmered in her was released when she slapped him across the face. He stood there, silent and regretful. He knew he should start apologizing, but he couldn't. He'd said what he'd said.

"I-"

"Don't!" She growled, and stormed out of his hut.

He stood there, face hot with pain and heart pricked by sorrow. He knew what he was doing, which was the scary part. He'd done the same thing to his wife, and she left him with worse feelings and with half his stuff. He'd loved _her_ even, and a part of him still did. But, he chased her away too for the same reasons. Now, when he finds a girl again that he connects with and is thousands of miles from his past problems, he still is guided by the fear in his heart. He sat down on his empty cot, and leaned forward onto his knees. This felt like he was losing his wife all over again, and dooming himself to seclusion. He had to change, but he still couldn't after all these years.

Jacen sat on the beach with the dim rays of sunlight still peeking over the horizon stained the sky crimson. The absence of clouds gave the sky a feeling of some awe-inspiring oil painting that, for the first time, Jacen paused and looked at. The world looked different from this beach, even the sunlight seemed richer. As all the colors mingled in the light blue ocean and white-tipped waves in one kinetic movement all at once, Jacen forgot what lay over that horizon and the civilization that awaited them.

The beach-camp was mostly quiet by now; most people were spending time with their friends or that special other person that they had found. Even among the small population of survivors, people were connecting, whether out of love or fear. The only other solitary person was Sawyer, who sat a couple hundred feet down the beach at his own hut. Yet, this didn't bother Jacen. He had spent the last three years of his life alone, riding along the asphalt rivers that criss-crossed America. He'd even ventured to Australia, putting the entire globe between him and everybody that was once his life. Now on an island in the middle of the ocean and surrounded by people, he'd found himself a solitary man again.

His mind drifted back to the pretty girl that had made friends with him so fast. It was unusual, even in these circumstances. Plane crash survivors that were living among other survivors and their own trauma. Surrounded by a thousand problems of varying importance, they'd still found connections. It still felt as if she had come on too strong though, made friends too fast. Jacen assumed she was looking for somebody to latch onto, somebody to help her feel grounded in all the chaos. Jacen, well he just wanted the company. While many people saw some great mystery in a man of self-seclusion, Jacen knew far too well it was nothing more than a life of loneliness and running along roads for the sake of something to do. There was no glory, no greater purpose. It was a life of a man afraid to face himself, who he was within his own heart and the guilt that rested there. Those haunting words of Christian came back to him, reminding him that he had already been judged as 'broken.'

Maybe there was truth to that, maybe there was something deep within him that was broken...

"Hey," A soft female voice said, but the source was not Veronica as his heart had hoped. He turned to the see the pretty blonde that was always wearing a bikini, Shannon.

He turned back around and faced the ocean, "What?"

"Look, I didn't come over here for you act like that." She said, standing next to him.

"Then why did you?" He asked.

"You looked lonely," She said, and sat down. Her long, brown legs stretched out in front of her, enticing Jacen. She smirked, "And so was I."

"Really?" Jacen asked dryly.

"Yeah, some cute guy sitting on the beach by himself and watching the sunset... It's kind of romantic..." She said, touching her words with just the right tone and pitch to send the signals she wanted.

"You know, I've met girls like you." Jacen said.

"Like me?"

"Girls that know they're pretty, and that knowledge warps them. They think they can use their sexuality and looks to get whatever they want. So, you prey on guys that look like they need somebody or after breakups, and you take them for all their worth. Most of the time, it's just to get what you want." Jacen said, and stood to his full-height. He wiped the sand off of his butt and turned, looking down at her, "So whatever it is you want, you can get it from somebody else."

Without another word or moment's hesitation, Jacen walked off and left the pretty blonde to wallow in the misery of knowing exactly what she was. Jacen had learned easily that if you really want to hurt somebody, you tell them exactly who they are. Nobody wants to know the truth, especially about themselves.

He walked up to his hut, and slipped between the hanging blanket and hut door. He froze inside, looking down and see Veronica sitting on his cot and fingering the ring still attached to her necklace. She didn't look up at him, didn't even acknowledge his presence. He stood there, wandering what exactly this conversation would entail.

"You know, you were right." She said.

"What?" He asked.

"I was using you," She said, not once taking her eyes off that ring. Her voice was low, deep. She kept talking, "After the crash, I was terrified. The first night on this beach, I was laying a few feet from John Locke. I couldn't sleep; I laid there and stared up at the stars. At first, I was wondering how this could happen to me. I wasn't perfect, but I wasn't a bad person, I didn't deserve this. Then, I started thinking about everything that was going to happen. There weren't police to run to, or my Aunt and Uncle to tell me everything would be alright. I was alone, surrounded by people I didn't know. There weren't any rules here either, anything could happen. People could kill others, and every time a guy looked at me, I thought he was going to drag me into the jungle to...."

Her words trailed for a little, and Jacen almost spoke up but thought about it. She wanted to talk, whatever she was saying she wanted to say and had a reason, so he kept his mouth shut. He waited for her to gather herself together, and she said, "I cried for a long time that night. I tried to be quiet, but it just wouldn't stop. I would think about something or I'd hear something moving, and I'd just get afraid all over again. I guess I wasn't as quiet as I thought."

"John got up, and then sat down next to me. He didn't say anything at first, just looked at me. For some reason, I wasn't afraid; there was something else in his eyes. He didn't ask why I was crying, he just said, 'Go to sleep. Everything will be okay. I'm here.' I didn't know what to say. Who says stuff like that, you know? But then he said, 'Nothing will hurt you. I'll make sure of that.' Then, he smiled at me, and just sat there. We didn't say anything else, he just sat there. But, it worked. I fell asleep for a few hours, and when I woke up, he was still there."

"Veronica..." Jacen started to say, and then she put her finger up to tell him to stop.

"But, John has other things to do here. He wasn't always going to be there, but you _were_ always there. You were like me, just trying to survive while everybody else was running around and keeping secrets. I figured, you'd always be there. So I talked to you, I flirted with you. I wanted you to like me, okay? I needed it." She said, and then finally put the ring back down into her shirt and patted it against her chest, "It started out that way, but that wasn't how it was... When you came back from the jungle bleeding, I wasn't worried about losing my 'protector,' I was worried about losing you."

Jacen stood, still taking in all the information she was pouring out of her. A part of him felt like he should say something, but he knew this wasn't about him. This was about her; she was getting this off her chest.

"I used you at first, but I fell for you Jacen. I really like you, and when you said that to me yesterday, it.... really hurt me." She said, and clasped her hands in front of herself, "But, you were right... at first. I did use you, but that changed. And the ring..... the ring doesn't mean what you think it does."

"What does it mean?" He asked.

"I can't tell you," She said, and looked at him with her brown eyes flooding with the emotion in her, "I can just tell you it doesn't mean I love him."

Jacen was quiet a moment, staring at her. He gathered the thoughts in his head, but the words to say were failing him. He had been out of this situation a long time, and dealing with people felt like he was punching at the wind. It seemed futile, but he wanted to do something.

"Veronica....," He finally said, "I'm sorry for what I said. I was mad, and scared. The past few days have been crazy, and it had all just gotten to me. I lost my temper."

"Maybe, but you were right." She said, "And you needed to hear what I said..... because I want you to know I still care about you."

"I... care for you too." He answered, "I always did. It was just, I saw the ring and it hurt because-"

"I know," She said quickly, trying to avoid that conversation again, "But, let's put that behind us. If we really do have feelings for each other, I want us to start on a clean slate and no lies."

Jacen paused, "... yeah."

"What?" She asked.

"Well," He said, and then paused. Did he really want to do this? Finally he said, "There's some things you need to know about me."

"Like what?" She asked with concern in her eyes.

"I lied about falling and hitting my head." He said, and then took a deep breath.

"What... really happened?" She asked, taking a few steps toward him and standing in front of him.

"You're not going to believe me..." He said, "I don't believe me..."

**Three years prior to the crash...**

It had finally hit the fan...

Jacen looked up as both the criminals walked into the lobby of the bank, all of the hostages tensing up and huddling together. They walked with heavy feet and determined eyes, the grace period was over. The male crook pointed his pistol down at the bank teller next to Jacen, "Get up!"

"What?" She said, clutching her still tied hands to Jacen's arms. Jacen struggled to keep his hands steady so the loose tie around his wrists wouldn't move, letting them know his was cut. He was also very thankful though that he hadn't cut her tie loose, but now prayed she didn't spill the beans on him and the others.

The male crook dragged her to her feet, and then pushed her forward into the open space in front of the lobby doors. She slid across the floor a little, and came to a stop. She was already dripping tears, and Jacen felt sorry that she had to suffer through everything these people wanted.

The female crook leveled her gun at the woman, "You get the key and bring it back, nobody else. If you don't come back, everybody in this building will die because of you. You understand?"

The bank teller looked solemnly at the crooks, tears dripping from her chin but not making a sound. She nodded her head, "Y-yeah... I'll get it..."

Jacen watched as she stumbled to her feet and through the door. Once out there, she made if halfway to the line of police cars outside before two SWAT officers corralled her and took her safely to the opposite side of the stand-off. Jacen kept watching, but his thoughts were about what would happen with her out-of-sight now. She'd made it, and now she was gone. Was she really going to come back?

For about two hours, the crooks stood around the lobby and paced back and forth. It was an uneasy stalemate as everyone waited. Jacen and the rest of the hostages all were nervous, knowing that with each tick of the clock the chances of death were increasing. Jacen's fears of the young girl coming back were starting to become cemented in his mind.

He thought back to that safety deposit box, though. What were its contents? What was so important? Two people were already dead, shot for getting in the way of the acquisition of the box's contents. These two crooks, hopefully, couldn't have possibly expected to get the contents of the box and leave, as if the police _would_ let them leave. They'd gone to so much trouble and risked so much, the contents must be extremely valuable.

They were about to find out, though. The young bank teller was walking nervously back over toward them, slowly approaching the front door of the bank. She carefully pulled it open, and walked back inside. Jacen couldn't believe it. Even in his heart, he hadn't expected that kind of courage from her. She was the one that wanted to leave, bargained with everything to get out. Now, she was walking right back into it.

"You get it?" The male crook asked.

"Yes." She answered softly, and walked toward them.

Standing in front of them, she opened her clenched fist and dropped a small, brown key into the male crook's hand. Both of the crooks smiled ear to ear, and Jacen didn't know what to expect now. The two crooks hugged each other, and whispered words of congratulation to each other. Jacen expected a sniper's bullet to pierce the lobby windows and then strike them. Yet, it never came. They were simply given the key.

The male crook pulled out a tie and wrapped it around her wrist. She didn't fight it this time, subjected herself to it. Once tied back up, she was dropped back down onto the ground next to Jacen. She sat there calmly, no tears in her eyes and simply watched the crooks walk back toward the still open vault. Stepping into the vault, Jacen turned and asked, "What are you doing?!"

"You didn't have a plan, now I do." She said with a nervous confidence still in her voice.

She reached into her blouse and pulled a pocket knife from her bra. Unfolding it, she twisted it around and cut away her own ties. The plastic ties fell to the floor, "Stay here."

"Wait! What?" Jacen asked, standing up with her. As she started to walk toward the vault door, he grabbed her arm, "What are you doing?!"

"Shut up! I have a plan." She said, and shoved him back down. He stumbled back against the desk. She jogged over the vault entrance, and pulled a metallic cylinder from the belt of her skirt at the small of her back. Jacen hustled over, grabbing the older man's hand and pulling him to his feet. They needed to act fast. The young girl swiveled around the door and into the vault. Jacen and the older man hurried to catch up to her. What was she thinking?!

As Jacen and the older man turned to enter the vault behind her, Jacen caught a split second of time. The girl turned, eyes closed and hands over her ears, sticking her head out of the vault. The next second, the world turned a solid white, and it felt like Jacen's head exploded. He cried out in pain, dropping to the floor with a thud.

He struggled just to right the world in his head, trying to regain some form of reality. The world faded from a blinding whiteness, but his hearing was in disruption still. His head felt as if he were underwater, distorting every sound and even his own breath became deafening to him. As he started to regain some recognition of reality, he realized that he had fallen onto his stomach and was looking out into the lobby. The hostages were hidden behind the door to his left, but the world in front of him was dark and obscured with shadows. He also realized that on top of him, the heavy, older man had fallen and was struggling to get up. Jacen tried to pull himself out, but he was pressed to the floor. He shook his head once, trying to dislodge the chaos in his head.

He took a breath that smelled of burnt wood and copper, and pushed himself up as the older man gave him just enough room to slide out from under him. He pulled his legs from under the heavy man's belly, and flipped over onto his butt. Inside the vault, the female crook was struggling to her feet as the male crook was just starting to get to his knees. The bank teller was nowhere to be seen, hidden inside the vault further.

Jacen jumped to his knees and crawled towards the male crook. As he snatched the pistol from the male crook's weak grasp, Jacen tried to flip it around in his hand but the female crook came at him fast and tackled him into the metal wall of the vault. His head thumped against the metal, and pain flourished again through his brain. He brought his knee up and weakly kicked her in the side, but was lucky enough to find her sore spot. She yelled in pain and crumpled to the floor. Jacen landed on top of her and pressed her to the ground. As Jacen looked up to see where the man was, he found the male crook on his knees already and rearing back with a heavy punch aimed for Jacen's head. Before Jacen could react, a large shadow crossed his vision and the large, older man came tumbling into the male crook. Easily outweighing, they tumbled back and the male crook crumpled under the weight. His head bounced off the floor as he fell, and he lay there, unconscious. Jacen pulled himself and the girl up, keeping her arms locked behind her back. She was in so much pain, she wasn't fighting Jacen though.

Jacen shook his head, still fighting the after-effects of the flash of light. He heard his ears pop, and then the voice of the older man, "You alright?" He yelled, but his voice still sounded like it was a hundred feet away from Jacen.

"Yeah, where's the girl?" Jacen asked, and then looked down into the vault. The bank teller was walking back toward Jacen calmly. He asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah.... I...." She said, and then shook her head, "Sorry, I got scared."

"What were you doing?!" The older man yelled.

"I... I was trying to help you guys..." She said, her face pouting together in pain.

"You should have told us what you were doing..." Jacen grunted. He stood to his feet, dragging the girl up with him. Jacen looked over at the man, "You got him?"

"Yeah, he's out cold. I think he hit his head." The man answered, "I think we both got lucky right now. What was that blast?"

"Flash grenade...." Jacen said, realizing it himself as he said it. He shook his head, still working the effects off, "Where'd you get it?"

"I took it from one of the SWAT vans; I thought it would knock them out." She said, and walked up to Jacen.

"No, they'll just be confused for a few seconds... You should have waited..." Jacen said, and then took a deep breath. He couldn't believe they'd survived it, and that it was only over in a few minutes like that. They really _were_ lucky. He nodded to the teller, "Go to the front doors, and get the police. Tell them it's over...."

The girl jogged out toward the front door, and Jacen felt like he was finally getting his bearings. The whole situation was dumb luck that they'd gotten up before the crooks, and that both of them handled the crooks. Jacen wondered though, looking down into the vault. Why did the bank teller come into the vault when she threw the grenade? She couldn't have been that dumb. He looked at the line of boxes, and none of them looked disturbed or opened. It was strange, she didn't even bother with the crooks. She threw the grenade then ran into the vault, past them. Was she after the box? Maybe she was told to get it out...

"Weird, wasn't it?" The man asked. The male crook still lay crumpled on the floor, but in his open palm was the small, brown key that the bank teller had given him. That didn't make sense. What had just happened in here?

"Yeah... way too weird... " Jacen replied. In the distance, he could hear heavy boots against marble floors. SWAT was coming, whatever happened would soon come to light. Cops and detectives would go over this place with a fine toothed comb, so now the mystery of the box was their problem. Jacen was happy to be done with this...


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

**Present day...**

Jacen listened to the gentle beating of the ocean waves against the beach, the incoming crash of sound and water and the soft hiss of it moving back out to the ocean to repeat itself. The soft beat of the waves was soothing to Jacen, a steady rhythm to set his mind to and stop him from wandering into the dark regions of his memory. Jacen welcomed the distraction.

He felt her against him, the softness of her skin against his. She was curled up in front of him, her back against his chest and the plume of her hair spread across the pillow in front of him. He loved the softness of her hair. It still smelled slightly of shampoo that was quickly running out, but it somehow kept softness to it despite the conditions. He moved his head forward slightly, nestling his face into her hair and kissing the back of her neck. She stirred to life, rotating at her hip and rolling onto her back. She tilted her head to look at him, and Jacen looked right into those big brown eyes and lost himself in them.

"Good morning." He whispered.

She squinted her face a little, "You're breath stinks..."

They both laughed a little, and Jacen sat up on the cot. The soft sheet that covered them fell to his waist. He groggily rubbed his face to wake himself up and he felt her sharp fingernails gently scratch across his back.

"Sorry, been a while since I've woken up with somebody next to me." He said, then swung himself over top of her and put his naked feet into the cool sand. He started to grab clothes from the floor of his hut and throw them back on.

"So is this like a reverse strip-tease?" She asked, curling up onto the bed and holding the sheet around her. Jacen didn't want to leave her, especially lying in his bed. But, he wanted to clean up and grab some food and water for them.

"Yeah, you enjoy the show?" He smirked as he pulled his jeans on and zipped them up.

"I've seen better." She winked at him.

He shook his head, smiling. He pulled his shirt on and wiped the sand from off of it. He looked down, "I'm going to clean up, then grab us some food if I can find any. I'll be right back."

She nodded her head, smiling. Jacen turned, and regretfully left the beautiful girl with no clothes on lying in his bed. He walked a few steps from his hut, then stretched a little and looked around. He looked down the beach to a few survivors he recognized, pulling luggage and few items from the splashing waves. Jacen jogged over, seeing Jack and the Middle-Eastern looking guy pulling stuff from the ocean and then taking a moment to talk to each other. As Jacen approached, Jack pointed to the loner sitting on the beach with his fingers taped with medical bandages.

Jacen approached the two of them, but the Middle-Eastern guy went back into the ocean to grab more things. Jack stood there, and then looked over as Jacen approached, "Hey, how's it going?"

"Fine, Doc. Why's everything in this ocean?" Jacen asked.

"Tide's increasing really fast, we're trying to get their stuff out of the ocean," He explained and then turned to Jacen, "How's your head? Kate said you fell and hit it the other day."

"It's fine, looked worse than it was." Jacen explained.

"Seems like you're always getting hurt." Jack smiled at him.

Jacen shrugged, "At least I'm not dead yet."

Jack nodded, "Have you seen Veronica?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well," Jack hesitated to say, then mustered his usual boldness and said, "Claire's gone missing right now, we think she's been kidnapped."

"What? Who took her?" Jacen asked.

"Ethan, you met him?" Jack asked.

Jacen paused, remembering the conversation he had with Veronica on how much he creeped her out. Jacen shook his head, "Had a bad feeling about him..."

"Well, she's been gone a few days now and I was wondering if Veronica knew anything. I haven't seen her since she left the cave a few days ago." Jack answered, "You two should come back, and it's safer there."

Jacen nodded, "I'll keep that in mind, Doc. I gotta talk to Veronica."

"If she knows anything, I need to know it." Jack warned.

"Yeah, I know." Jacen grumbled as he jogged away from Jack who turned and went back to helping them grab luggage from the tide.

Jacen jogged up to his hut, and slipped between the hanging blanket and the hut door. Inside, Veronica flipped around, and Jacen froze. She had her jeans on and a white, dirty bra. She was midway through slipping her shirt on. She smiled at him, and then let her shirt slide down over her frame. She reached up and began to pull her hair back into a ponytail, "What, no breakfast? That's not very gentleman-like."

"No, I've got bad news." Jacen said.

The smile melted from her face, and she asked, "What?"

"Claire's been kidnapped."

"What?!" Veronica said and pushed around him, and left the hut. Jacen chased after her, and as she started to jog off toward the cave, Jacen grabbed her arm and stopped her. She flipped around, "We have to go back to the cave."

"Look, she's not there. There's no point rushing there right now, we know she's not there." He answered.

"I was supposed to keep an eye on her, I have to go back." Veronica argued.

"Look, it's done and she's gone. The doc said she's been gone a couple of days, or something like that." Jacen told her.

"Jacen.... I have to do something. Don't you feel like you need to do something?!" She asked.

"Yeah, but we need to think straight. We can't go running off into the jungle on pure emotion, we need to use our heads." Jacen said, "Look, remember what I told about the fence? Maybe Ethan-"

"Ethan?!" Veronica yelled.

"Yeah, Jack said he thinks Ethan took her."

Veronica shook her head and yelled, "I knew it! I knew he was acting funny."

"Look, Ethan probably took her where he thinks we can't follow. We can go back out to that..." He started to explain, and then quieted his voice so others wouldn't hear and get upset, "We can go back out to that fence, and I guarantee he took her out that way to get away from us. We can go look around and try to spot her."

"We should take Jack and others...." She said.

"No!" Jacen said quickly, "We need to be calm. We don't know anything, and there's no reason to get everybody upset. The two of us can go look around, and if we think something is up, we can bring Jack and Locke or whoever else you want."

Veronica shook her head, "Fine.... Let's just go...."

**Present day…**

It had been a couple of weeks since the drama from the bank heist had calmed down. The two crooks had been taken to jail, awaiting their court dates while investigators were probably gathering whatever evidence was left to gather. Jacen was glad to be home and away from all the drama though. He missed the quietness of his apartment.

He leaned back onto the soft, black leather couch and from the kitchen; he could hear his wife closing the fridge. She came into the living room, her dirty blonde hair let free and falling to her shoulders. She wore her blue pajamas and a white tank top, completely relishing the comfort of being home and having Jacen there. She curled up on the couch next to him, and took a drink of her beer.

"None for me?" Jacen asked with a smile.

She looked over, "Want one?"

He shook his head, "Can I just have a drink of yours?"

"Sure." She said and handed it to him. He took a drink of the cold liquid as it swirled down his throat, and the bitter taste of the beer hit him. He loved it too much. A part of him knew if he allowed himself, he could easily become a professional drunk.

He swung his arm around his wife, and she leaned against him. He leaned over and kissed the crown of her head, and the intoxicating smell of her hair invaded his lungs. He paused a moment after kissing her head, and took a deep breath of the sweet smell of her hair. She giggled, "You're so creepy."

"I can't help it...." He smirked.

The phone next to him rang, and Jacen reached over to pick it up. He pressed the cordless phone to his head and said, "Hello?"

"Jacen?" A deep voice asked.

"Hey buddy, you called me. You might want to start with your name..." Jacen said.

"My name..... is Charles Widmore," The voice said calmly, and alarms in Jacen head suddenly fired. He knew that name, remembered it far too well, "I assume you recognize it."

"Yeah, yeah I know who you are." Jacen said and leaned forward, his wife turning and looking at him. She knew something was wrong.

"Well, after that little adventure in the bank, I was told that my safety deposit box was never opened. But, when I go down there myself to look inside and verify the contents, I find it empty." Charles said very methodically and patiently, as if each word and sentence had to be uttered with careful precision. He continued, "Now, either those two bumbling idiots who tried to rob me were smart enough to hide the contents of my box somewhere.... or one of you three that were in that vault did."

"I didn't open your box, Charlie..." Jacen said, the shock of the phone call wearing off on him. Jacen didn't like this conversation or this Charles Widmore trying to intimidate him. Jacen's usual reaction to that was antagonization.

"I know you didn't. That sweet little girl who was working the bank counter that day did." He answered, "And, the police, assuming she was nothing more than an innocent girl stuck in there as a hostage, didn't even investigate her until I told them somebody had gotten into my box. Now, they can't find her."

"So, how do you know it was her? Or is it your usual reaction to start blaming the first person you think of?" Jacen asked.

"Turn on your television, Mr. Darke." Charles said.

"It's on..."

"Turn to the local news."

Jacen flipped the channel. They were coming back from commercial, and Jacen watched as the newscaster was gathering herself to tell the next story. As Jacen watched, Charles said, "The next story will interest you."

The newscaster finally said, "Right before the break, we were telling you about the double homicide on Adams Ave. yesterday. New reports now are coming in with the name of the victims. Timothy Markus Mayhew and his wife, Violet, were both shot in the head yesterday in their home on Adams Ave. Some may recognize Timothy as one of the hostages a few weeks ago in the bank robbery we reported on. Timothy was one of the men that helped detain the two robbers while authorities entered the building...." Jacen hit mute on the TV, and fought to control his anger. That was a friend, the older man that had helped him in the bank...

"Jacen, I know you're angry and rightfully so, but I'm talking to you right now to warn you." Charles said, his voice deepening as the seriousness in his voice increased. He continued on, "The woman who worked at that bank stole what I had in that safety deposit box, and knows I want it back. She's trying to cover her tracks right now because she believes I don't know she took it, so she had poor Mr. Mayhew and his wife killed. Right now, I'm afraid she's coming for you."

Jacen stood up, and said, "Why should I believe any of this? Why should I believe you? I don't know you."

"No, you don't Mr. Darke. But, I know you are my only link to her right now. She's coming for you, and if you die, she has no reason to stay in town. She'll leave with what she took from me, which means I may not see it for a long time." Charles said.

"What do you want from me, then?" He asked.

"I have a proposition that will pay well for you in the end."

"What's the proposition?" Jacen asked.

"I want you to get my property back, and kill the woman that took it from me."

He sat quietly in the older car, head leaning back against the seat rest but his eyes eternally watching. The cool night air moved just lightly through the driver's side window and circulated inside, feeling good against his skin. He had parked under a tall oak tree, the wide reach of the branches above him coating him in its shade. Even in the darkness of night, he was almost unseen entirely under that tree. He sat there, watching the front of his own house and waiting for her.

The conversation with the bank teller girl went fine. She mocked fear, saying somebody had killed Mr. Mayhew. She'd seen it on the news about his death, and now she feared for her own life. Jacen would of bought it if it hadn't of been for that Charles Widmore. Then again, something was fishy about him too. Jacen didn't know who to believe, but right now, he knew that he and his wife were in danger. Either way, whoever came to his door was going to be dealt with.

The blue van drove around the corner at the end of his block and slowly approached. It was the third time this van was driving by, it had to be her. As the van slowed and creeped into his drive, Jacen texted his wife that somebody had arrived. Inside, she was to be ready now, hidden away with a loaded pistol in her hand in case this all went wrong for Jacen. From out of the van, the blonde haired woman got out and Jacen realized she was wearing the same clothes she was wearing when she left the bank. Why? She walked up to his front door, continuously looking around and behind her. She was nervous, and apparently had bad intentions.

Jacen opened his door of his car, the lights above him, which normally shined brightly, were covered in several layers of duct tape and darkness was his weapon. He stepped out, and lightly pressed the door closed until it latched. While the girl turned and knocked on his door again, Jacen began walking down the street quickly and silently. She didn't turn, but instead leaned over and peeked in his window. Jacen quickly moved across the street and behind her van she just parked. He waited there, listening as her footsteps neared the van and she turned around the front of the van to get in. Jacen turned the corner of the back of the van with trained precision and pulled his pistol up, leveling it at her head. He growled softly, "What did you do?"

She was scared, jumped back and reached for her belt where Jacen saw her own pistol. She froze, seeing his pointed directly at her forehead. She forced out, "Easy.... calm down..."

"You're bringing trouble to my front door...." Jacen growled, "I want to know why you came here."

"Because I have nowhere to go..." She replied, tears welling up in her eyes. He'd seen this act before from her, and he wasn't falling for it.

"Stop it."

"I-I can't. Please, I'm not here for trouble." She begged.

"Is this how you worked Mayhew over? Faked some pity from him, and then shot him in the head?" Jacen accused her.

"What?! No!"

"And his wife?! Why did you kill her, too?" Jacen spat out.

"I didn't' kill anybody! You've got this all wrong." She pleaded, holding her hands up for pity.

"Why did you take it?! Is it worth their lives? Is it worth coming to kill me?" He asked, stepping forward to her. He'd spent too much time in his driveway with a pistol pointed at her. His neighbors could look out anytime and see him.

"I'm not here to kill you! I made a mistake, and I'm scared Jacen!" She said, tears finally dripping from her eyes. She shook her head, her hands still in the air began to shake with emotion, "I made a bad mistake, and I shouldn't have taken it. But... they offered me a lot of money for it. Now, they gave me my money but it's not worth it! I'm being hunted Jacen... and you are too. That Widmore guy wants it back, and I need your help. I want to fix this! Please!"

Jacen paused. The emotion in her was real. He knew that when he saw it, he'd worked security for people too long to not recognize fear when he saw it. She was afraid, and not of Jacen. He lowered his pistol slowly, waiting for her to react and reach for her own pistol. She didn't, she only stared at him with pathetic eyes and tear-stained cheeks. She was being honest, he thought.

That Widmore guy was suspicious and the entire phone call was strange. This girl, how could she of killed Mayhew? Jacen looked at her, and in his heart he believed she didn't have a murderer buried in her. She was just a girl that made a mistake, and Widmore was trying to benefit from her misfortune and Jacen's paranoia.

Jacen tucked the pistol in his belt, and said, "Who's hunting you?"

"Some soldier guy... he killed my boyfriend. When I went to Mayhew, he was following me. He... Mayhew tried to stop him, but he shot him then he shot his wife. I... I was scared, Jacen. I ran...." She said and let her hands drop to her sides. Jacen reached forward and pulled the pistol from her belt. He tucked in his own jeans at the small of his back, his own pistol still tucked in the front of his jeans.

"Is he following you now?" Jacen asked, and looked around. The night was still and silent, and if a man with murder in his heart was out there, Jacen didn't see him.

"I don't know... I've been driving for hours...." She said, "I'm exhausted."

Jacen pulled out his phone and dialed his wife's number. After a few rings, she picked up, "Where are you?!"

"I'm fine baby." He said, and then looked at the girl, "This is getting complicated. I need you to do something."

"What?" His wife asked.

"Pack some clothes, and get my money from the box in the closet. Get in my car out front, pull the battery out of your cell phone and drive to a hotel far away from here." Jacen said, and pulled open the door to the girl's van. He jumped into the driver's seat, and the girl walked around to get in the passenger's seat.

"What's going on, Jacen?" She asked painfully.

"It's okay, you're going to be fine," He said, trying to comfort her, "Don't turn your cell phone for anything okay?"

"But, how will you find me? How will I know what happens?"

"After a few days, go to a store and buy a pay-as-you-go phone. Don't give them any of your real information, make up everything. Once you get the phone, dial my number and I'll answer. If I don't....," He said, and then fought to tell her what's next, "If I don't answer, throw it away and drive away to somewhere else baby. Try again in a few days." He wanted to give her hope, but if he didn't answer the first time, he was going to be dead.

"Okay... Jacen, do you know what you're doing?" She asked.

"Trust me, Tiger. I've got this under control," He said.

A few minutes of 'I love you's' and other terms of endearment, and Jacen hung up. He started the van with her keys, and drove out of his driveway and down the road. Whatever course he was on, he was now on a straight course to a head-on collision with whatever was hunting the girl and, ultimately, him.

"So, what was in the box?" He asked.

She looked over, and looked at him a moment. She shook her head, "I can't tell you."

"Why?" He asked.

"Because, they want me dead since I know what it is. If you know, they'll kill you too." She said, and wiped her tears from her face, "If I don't tell you, maybe you can live."

"You're talking like you're planning on dying." He said.

"You have no idea who I've been dealing with. The people that want this.... thing, they want it at any cost. Those two crooks," She said, and looked over at Jacen, "Those two that robbed that bank... These people had kidnapped their daughter, and the only way they were going to see the girl again was if they retrieved what was in that box."

"How do you know that?" Jacen asked, but it made sense. Those two weren't criminals, they didn't act like or think like it. He knew that when they were in that bank still.

"Because, when I went outside, a man... he approached me as one of the SWAT guys while I was waiting for the real cops to discuss what they were doing. He told me that what those two were doing and why, and also that they had failed. Their daughter was already dead, since the authorities wouldn't let them leave that bank. He told me though, that if I did this for them, his boss would pay me a million dollars. I was already afraid of them, but when he told me the money, I... I couldn't turn it down. But I didn't want to hurt anybody, so he gave me the flash grenade and what to do.... So, I did it."

"Yeah, I understand." Jacen said, and nodded. He didn't know what he would do in that situation, since that was a lot of money. But, these people she was dealing with weren't worth their trouble.

"Don't worry," He said, "We'll get this problem solved, get whatever it is they have back, and then we'll deal with Widmore. Do you know where to find them?"

"Well, I still... I have what they want still. They gave me the money, and when I went to get it for them... That soldier guy came with two other guys, they killed the two men who were there to get Widmore's thing and then tried to kill me... They don't know where it is, that's why they want me." She said.

"So, why can't we just give it to them?" He asked.

"Because they'll kill me. I know what it is, and what's in it. Besides, that Moriarty guy already paid me the money for the item. That's why I went to get it, and I'm sure he's going to have a problem with me taking his money and giving Widmore his b.... his thing back." She said, almost uttering the mysterious item aloud. Jacen was hoping she'd slip up, but he wasn't going to press her about it. He didn't care that much. He just wanted this done.

As they were driving, she shrunk down in her seat as a black van was going past. The man driving stared directly into the van at them, and as Jacen and the girl spotted his face, she screamed in surprise, "That's him! That's the soldier guy!"

Jacen jammed the blue van to a stop in the road, screeching to a halt. The black van had done the same. He had seconds to react.

"What are you doing?! They'll kill us both!" The girl screamed.

"I'm a different kind of animal than Mayhew..." Jacen said, throwing the van into reverse as the driver of the black van got out and leveled a pistol at them. Jacen mashed the pedal to the floor of the van, and it screeched backwards toward the man and the other van.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

**Present day**

Jacen walked through the hot jungle toward the caves where the other survivors were staying. Veronica was behind him, her breathing heavy with the trek across the rough terrain. Jacen felt bad for her, knowing that she felt guilty for Claire's kidnapping. He remembered her telling him that Jack had asked her to keep an eye on her. Now, the pregnant girl was gone and taken by a guy that Veronica had already mistrusted. He felt bad cause he knew that she felt guilty, and guilt was something Jacen was familiar with.

"How much farther?" She asked behind him.

Jacen paused, turning to look at her, "Not much further. Maybe a half hour if we keep moving pretty quickly." Jacen said, and saw her trying to catch her breath, "Let's take a break a second."

"No... No, let's keep going." She said, and started walking.

Jacen grabbed her arm, "Look, we're no good if we're worn out and drained by the time we find her."

"She's gone, and we don't know where she is. Our only guess is that she went towards the fence, and even then, we're just guessing." She said, and tried to shrug her arm from his grip.

Jacen started to argue, but a soft rattle from the jungle drew his attention. He heart leaped into his throat, and he began to scan around them. The jungle was thick and the wind blowing through the trees made everything move and sway. He couldn't spot anything.

"We have to go...." Jacen muttered.

"Finally, you agree with me."

The roar came quickly, piercing through his ears and suffocating his brain in anguish. Jacen looked toward the trees where the sound came from, and Veronica screamed, covering her ears. This was clearly her fist time dealing with this thing up close. It snaked between two trees, and reared itself up into the air like a snake ready to strike. It stood probably ten feet in the air, and Jacen feared for their lives now. Why was thing always showing up at horrible times?!

"Run!" Jacen screamed, "Follow me!"

He bolted, legs churning again as he tore through the jungle without any regard to caution. He knew his direction though; he needed to reach that fence again. He churned across the jungle floor, slicing between large tree trunks and crashing through large tendrils of foliage. Chancing a glance behind him, Veronica was right behind him and so was Smokey.

They passed an opening in the jungle to their left, and Jacen thought he remembered going through one last time he was running from this thing. He was closer than he thought to the fence. He churned forward, minutes of frenzied running and lucky dodges of tree limbs or large vines threatening to entangle. He could still hear Veronica behind him, the pounding of her shoes against the soil. He could also hear the rattle of the creature behind them as it kept it's chase.

They broke into a clearing and ahead of Jacen, after so many tortured minutes of running; he saw the large concrete pylons he recognized. As he neared them, though, he heard the scream. Veronica was in trouble. He looked behind him, seeing her crumple to the ground and roll a little. She had fallen, and as she stumbled to her feet, the creature pounced on her. A thick strand of smoke tangled her feet, and suddenly she was off. The creature pulled her back, the opposite direction from the fence. Jacen quickly stopped, and tore back off after her. Fear was gone now, she needed him.

They melted back into the Jungle, poor Veronica being dragged across the ground and her fingers digging into earth as she tried desperately to grab something. The creature pulled her to the right, and Jacen followed. As the tail of the smoke began to disappear into a large hole in the earth next to a tree trunk, Veronica luckily snatched a tree root. She couldn't hold if forever as the creature pulled her until her grip was lost, but she bought Jacen enough time. He dove forward as it drug her into the hole, and he grabbed her arms before she was lost. Her lower half of her body already sunk into the hole. Jacen swung around, planting his feet against the tree roots and the tree trunk as braces for himself, and he held her arms tightly as he could.

"Hold on!" He screamed.

"Don't let go!" She screamed back, her nails digging into her forearms but he didn't feel it.

Behind her, he could see the creature engulfing her body. It snaked up around her shoulders, and coating her chest in it's smoky body. Her neck was encircled, and it slowly crept up her neck to her chin, and she screamed, "Pleeeeeaaase! No!"

The smoke slowly engulfed her face, and crept up her arms toward Jacen's. He wasn't winning this struggle. He held her tightly and screamed, "Noooo!"

The smoke slowly crept up past her mouth, then her nose, and all that was left was the fear in her eyes and the muffled scream from beneath the smoke. The tendrils of smoke crept up her arms, slowly encircling her there too. Jacen felt the coolness of the smoke as it touched his skin, creeping up her arms and now stretching across his.

Jacen screamed, "NO! Stop! You want somebody, take me! Leave her ALONE!" He pulled with all his strength, afraid for a moment that he was going to rip her arms from their sockets but somehow he gained ground. Her head pulled up from it's grip, and her face was there. She was crying, trying to scream but fighting the cries in her throat gurgling out.

"You want a victim, take me! She doesn't deserve this!" He continued to scream, trying to bargain with this creature as if it even understood him.

An appendage of the smoke appeared, like a long snake curling up in front of Jacen's face and threatening to bite. It came just before his face and waited, hovering right there as if wanting an answer or something from him. He struggled through his memory of this thing and what Christian had said to him.

"Okay, I'm broken! I don't know what's wrong, but something's broken! I admit it! I'm not a good person, I'm evil and I've done horrible things! I deserve this, not her!" He yelled at it, pulling on her and feeling her slowly coming back up toward him, "Take me! Kill me!"

Suddenly, Veronica flew at Jacen and they fell backwards away from the hole in the ground and rolled to a stop. From inside the hole in the ground, the 'head' of the smoke peered out and at Jacen. It gave a softer roar, almost mournful or meaningful. Then, it slithered away and down the hole. He held tightly to Veronica, who could do nothing but cry. She held tightly to him, her arms folded into his chest. He cradled her in his arms, trying anything to soothe her suffering and pain. He had no idea what happened, but he was thankful for once.

**Three years prior to the crash...**

The wreckage of the vans scattered across the road around Jacen, and glass shards glittered off the asphalt like diamonds. The world was still spinning for Jacen as he dropped from the car door and his feet hit the asphalt. He stumbled forward, pulling the pistol from his belt loop. Out of the passenger side of the two vans, another man was coming out. Jacen raised his pistol and fired; one round and the man dropped to his knees then flipped over onto his back. Jacen was still, scanning the scene of the wreckage for the other man. Jacen had watched him jump out of the way as his van collided. The night was calm, everything was still and the only sounds were the idling of the vans.

From behind him, he heard her feet hit the ground and then her muffled cry of pain. She stumbled forward to Jacen, her hand falling his back to help keep her stabile and upright. She moaned, "Come on, we have to leave...."

Jacen stepped forward, ignoring the protests from his 'accomplice' and continued his search for the man. Jacen neared the rear of the van, and as he turned the corner, the soldier jumped from his spot. He pushed Jacen's gun hand into the air as Jacen pulled the trigger, and pushed him backward until Jacen stumbled and fell. The man came down hard, his free arm pushing against Jacen's throat as they hit the ground. As the man reached up to hit Jacen again with his free arm, the bank teller reacted and grabbed him from behind. Her nails ripped across his face, tearing flesh and opening wounds across his face. He cried in pain, enough time for Jacen to react and roll the two of them over.

The bank teller fell, and tumbled to the side. Jacen had the upper hand now though. Still struggling with his pistol hand in the man's grip, Jacen moved his free arm down and smashed his own forearm into the man's throat. He threw his weight into it, despite being smaller than this man. He had the upper hand, and as long as kept it, they were fine.

"I'm.... I'm... with Wid... Widmore...." The man struggled to say, coughing and gasping against Jacen's grip. Jacen pressed into him harder. Even if he was telling the truth, the man's first reaction was to shoot. Jacen wasn't a forgiving man.

Jacen kept his grip down, but the man had a hold of his arm. Desperate for breath and life, he started to outmuscle Jacen's weight on him and pressed Jacen back enough to suck in a few breaths of air. The Bank Teller jumped onto Jacen from behind, pressing her tiny amount of weight on top of Jacen's shoulders and giving him the edge he needed. Jacen's grip smashed back down into the man's throat, and didn't loosen.

Still struggling to loosen Jacen's grip, the man began to pummel Jacen's side with his fist to get a reaction but Jacen kept his focus until the punches became taps, then touches, and finally the man lay limp on the asphalt. The girl jumped off of Jacen, and stood up. Both of them stared at the man, waiting nervously for him to take a breath and start fighting again, expecting him to just jump up and be ready to fight.

"Thanks for the help..." Jacen said, standing up finally and holding his side.

He looked back down the street, no more than a few miles from his own home. His blood and prints were all over the accident and the men. While it may have been self-defense in Jacen's eyes, some may not have agreed. He started to think of how to erase the evidence. His mind wasn't working fast enough though, and at the moment, he still had work to do.

He turned to the girl, "Alright, your problem is solved. Now, I need what you have."

"What?" She asked.

"I need Widmore's property. You give it to me, and I can make this go away." Jacen said.

"I have to give the money back to Moriarty, or he'll still be after me too." She said.

"Do you know where to find him?" He asked.

She thought, then shook her head, "He said that he'd find me, but that was before these two came along."

"Then just take the money and leave, run away." Jacen said, still holding his side with his left arm. His right hand held the pistol in his grip still, but the man had done more damage than Jacen had thought. His chest was really starting to hurt.

"He'll find me. I have to..." She replied, and Jacen realized her plan.

"You were using me to get these two of your back?" Jacen asked, pointing at the unconscious man with his pistol, "You're not running! You're giving that book back!"

She looked at him oddly, hesitated at first then asked, "How do you know what it is?"

"Widmore told me what it was, he wants it back and he made a deal with me to make sure he gets it back." Jacen said, then pulled the pistol up and leveled it at her head, "Now, give me the book."

"You... You! You've been with Widmore all along!!" She said, and then cursed, "I never should have gotten involved...."

"I don't know Widmore, and I don't know why he wants the book. But, I have to take it back to him... Now, give me the book...." Jacen growled at her.

She shook her head, trying to say she didn't want to but her words weren't coming out. Jacen leveled his stare at her, and took a step to her. She started to cry again, a single tear running down her cheek. Jacen felt bad, but she had no idea what she had done or what was at stake for him. Widmore wanted that book, and he made sure that Jacen understood by any means.

Jacen shook his head, seeing lights in houses starting to flick on. People had heard the commotion, cops were on their way. Time was up.

"You shouldn't have taken the book..." Jacen said, "I'm sorry."

"Please..." She cried, holding her hands up.

"At least you know you're not going to face the same judgment I will...." Jacen said, and pulled the trigger.

The night was still eerily quiet after her body hit the asphalt and lay there. Birds were silent, dogs had stopped barking. It was as if life itself let a moment go in silence for the loss of an innocent. The silence didn't bother Jacen, he'd seen death before. The moment out of all of this that would haunt him for the rest of his life was the look in her eyes. It wasn't her words or anything else; it was the look of fear and horror in her eyes as if she was staring at a monster. But then, maybe she was. To her, Jacen was a monster.

A few minutes of searching her, and he found nothing. He put the pistol in his belt, her pistol he'd taken from her still in his belt as well. He opened the van door and began searching. He found it finally, the object at the center of this tornado of conflict. He pulled it from under the passenger seat, wrapped inside of a towel. He unwrapped the towel and looked at it a moment, curiosity leading him to wonder about the contents and it's value. People had died for the contents of this book so far. Why?

It was leather; the smooth brown exterior was cool to the touch. On it's spine, it only read one word, "LEDGER." He wanted to read it, at least try to understand why it was so valuable to so many people. Yet, time was not Jacen's friend. Cops would be coming soon, and even now, in the distance he could see the red and blue flashes of light. Jacen tucked the small book into his belt and held the pistol in his hand. He jumped from the van and ran across the street into someone's yard. Before hopping the fence, Jacen looked back at the man on the ground, wondering if he should kill him since he'd seen his face. But the big guy was still out cold, and the cops were nearing. Jacen figured it was too late now. Jacen hopped the fence and disappeared into the night.

**Three hours later...**

Jacen stepped out of the elevator and into the waiting area of the office. A woman with dark hair and a severe face sat behind a desk, and looked at him coldly, "Mr. Darke?"

"Yeah." Jacen answered, and stepped out of the elevator and into the empty waiting area. It was decorated with lavish, over-the-top items that were bought and displayed for the sole purpose of boasting wealth to anybody visiting. Jacen felt uneasy, especially making this trade on Widmore's premises and on his terms.

The secretary tapped a button on her phone, and a few moments later, two men opened the door behind the secretary's desk and stepped out, letting it close behind them. One was a tall, African-American man with dark skin and very thin frame, carrying a metal briefcase at his side. His face, and especially his eyes, set him apart from everyone else he had met so far, hinting a depth of character and understanding that others lacked. The second man that came with him was very familiar to Jacen; he was the man Jacen had left lying on the asphalt a few hours ago. His nose was bandaged, and his cuts and scrapes were cleaned, but he knew that face.

Jacen started to reach behind him for his pistol, but the tall man said, "Easy, Mr. Darke. There's no need for violence right now."

"A few hours ago, that man tried to kill me.." Jacen growled, keeping his hand ready to grab his pistol.

"Mr. Keamy meant you no harm, Jacen. His orders were to procure that book as well if you should fail. Seeing you with that woman, Mr. Keamy assumed that your promise of returning that book was broken. He took action." The man said, "But if you're here to deliver that book, then there's no need for that."

"Then why bring him out here?" Jacen asked.

"He's..... Security." The man answered enigmatically.

"And who are you? Where's Widmore?" Jacen asked.

"Mr. Widmore, understandably, is busy at the moment and so, I've been sent to retrieve his item for him." The man said, and stepped toward Jacen. Standing in front of him, he offered his hand to Jacen and said, "My name is Matthew Abaddon. I'm a friend, you can trust me."

Jacen ignored his hand, and instead unfolded the towel in his hands to reveal the book. Abaddon smiled at Jacen, pulling the book from the towel and into his hands. He nodded his head, "Well done, Mr. Darke. Charles did not underestimate you after all."

"What about his end of the deal?" Jacen asked.

Abaddon nodded, and then said, "What if I offered you something else? Mr. Widmore has many uses for people such as-"

"No, I want the money." Jacen said, shaking his head.

Abaddon nodded, "Very well," He hoisted the briefcase in his grip and extended it to Jacen, "2 million dollars, as promised."

Jacen took the case, peering inside. The contents looked real enough to him. He clicked it shut, then nodded to them both and tapped the button for the elevator. As it slid open, he said, "Tell Widmore it was nice doing business with him," Jacen said, and then stepped backward into the elevator after the doors opened. As they began to shut again, he said, "But, I hope I never hear from him again...."


	9. Epilogue

.......:::::::Epilogue:::::::.......

The trek back to camp was the longest, and it didn't help that Veronica at first had no clue what that was or what happened. Then, she was mad at Jacen for not telling her about it since he'd run into it before already. Now, she was just quiet and reserved to the silent trek back to camp. The issue of Claire was gone, and now all that remained was the fear for her own life. Every noise drew her attention.

Jacen was lost in his own though as well. When she was half-way down that hole and the smoke had her, Jacen was scared he would never see her again. The pain and suffering in his heart while he was pulling her back was enough torture for him.

"So,.... when you were pulling me up," Veronica said, breaking the silence, "You said you'd done horrible things and that you deserved to die..."

Jacen had hoped she'd not heard that or it was forgotten in her panic. Apparently, she wasn't a forgetful girl at all. Then again, maybe she was trying to focus on other things. Jacen sighed, "I asked you before, 'what makes you think I'm a good guy?' I'm not. I've done horrible things, Veronica. I'm not a good guy."

"Do you really believe that?" She asked, hugging herself with her arms as if finding some solace or comfort in it.

"Yeah..." He answered simply, and he meant it.

She paused a moment, then she began talking, "When I was younger, a friend of my Uncle's was a man from prison. A lot of people didn't like him or trust him, said he was a bad guy too. But, my Uncle didn't believe that. He offered the man a job on his farm, and when he lost his home, my Uncle gave him a room in the house until he found an apartment. He stayed there a month with us, and at first I was afraid of him."

"Veronica.." Jacen said.

"Let me finish," She said, "But, there came a night when a man broke into my Uncle's house. My Uncle got his shotgun, but the robber got my Uncle. He stabbed him twice. My Aunt and I were locked in my room, and all I could do was cry. But, when my Uncle yelled for help, my Aunt started to get up. She stopped though when we heard the footsteps."

"The man from prison that stayed in the room in the basement had come upstairs after hearing the fight, and all I could hear were his heavy footsteps running down the hallway. I was scared he was going to come take me, but...," Veronica turned and looked at Jacen, "But, he fought the robber with only his bare hands. He was stabbed three times, but he broke both of the robber's arms. And.. instead of killing the robber, he called the cops. He saved my Uncle's life.. and maybe mine."

"Why are you telling me this?" Jacen asked.

"Because people change. The man had done something bad in his past, he'd killed two people. But, he changed who he was while he was alone in prison. The ex-convict that lived with my Uncle for a month was a hero that saved a family." Veronica said, reaching for Jacen's hand. She shook her head, "Maybe you've done bad things, and when you want to talk about it, I'll listen. But, the Jacen I know right now, he's not a bad guy. He's a good guy, and he's got a good heart."

"Sometimes the only thing missing from people's lives is a second chance...." She said.

Jacen didn't know what to say, he stood there and could only stare back at her. A part of him felt like crying, another part felt like he should just keep walking, and another part told him that she was wrong. He'd done a lot of bad things in his life, and his worse was killing an innocent woman for money. Maybe she was right, maybe she was wrong. He didn't know, but he knew that he wanted to believe she was right.

They started from a distance away, but the whispers came fast, and Jacen tensed up. Veronica wasn't prepared and she fell into him. Her fingers dug at his shirt and his skin, and Jacen could only hold on to her. He shook his head, "It's not the smoke..."

"What? What is it?" She asked, the fear in her making her imagine something worse coming for her now.

The tall man's voice rang eerily calm and unnatural in the surroundings, "Jacen."

Jacen and Veronica turned to see Christian standing there, eyeing Jacen and his face as serious and as still as death itself. He nodded, "You can't tell the others what you two experienced."

"What?" Veronica asked.

"They are not prepared for this," Christian said then pointed to Veronica, "_She_ was not prepared for this."

"She's safe with me." Jacen said.

"Nobody will be safe with you, Jacen." Christian shook his head.

"How would you know?"

"Because I know what your purpose is, and I'm here to guide you to it."

Jacen paused a moment. He was never a 'destiny' believer or any of this stuff. Yet, after all that he'd come through, he paused. This man had saved him once from the monster, guided him home once already, and seemed to have good intentions despite everything else that has happened.

"What is my purpose?"

"There's somebody you must meet first," Christian said.


End file.
